A day at Rikkaidai
by rennomiya
Summary: Sakuno Ryuzaki seems to attract guys even though she doesn't want to... what would she do now if she's inside Rikkai Dai with many tennis players from different schools? And all the commotion happened in only a day!
1. Sakuno's lost, again!

A/N: This story just popped in my head so I decided to write this. This is not a yaoi fic. To the people who know me, they'll say, "Ren never writes yaoi, she always write Ryosaku if she's in the prince of tennis section." So, there it is… I don't know if I'll update, depending on the reviews. If many liked this plot, then I'll update but I surely doubt that there will be even a single review (If that happens, I'll delete this story). I know I'm not a great author but reading other fics inspires me. But! If many faved or alerted this then I'll update.

Oh, and if you read my 'Sakuno's princes of tennis', please wait for my update because I'm working on it now. So anyway…

Summary: Sakuno Ryuzaki seems to attract guys even though she didn't want to... what would she do now if she's inside Rikkai Dai with many tennis players from different schools? And it all happened in a day!

DISCLAIMER:

Teacher: Class, who owns prince of tennis?

Ren: (Raises her hand) Konomi Takeshi, ma'am!

Teacher: Right!

* * *

**"A day at Rikkaidai."**

Chapter one: Sakuno's lost, again!

"Rikkai Daigaku Fuzoku." The two girls read the sign at the entrance of the school. This school is very popular in Kanagawa prefecture. Many people, both students and non-students, entered the said school. It's not because they're going to enroll, it's because today is Rikkai's founding anniversary or as what we like to call 'Foundation day'. The university invited a lot of people to join their celebration with them by joining different booths and stuffs. Sanada Genichirou and Yukimura Seiichi invited their rival school's tennis team.

FLASHBACK

"_Gather up, regulars!" Tezuka yelled._

"_Yes." The regulars lined-up in front of their captain and waited patiently for him to say his announcement._

_Ryoma felt that something bad is going to happen. He felt that whatever the captain will say would not ease his mind. But this is just an instinct, though. What he didn't know is that his instincts were right._

"_Yukimura, the captain of Rikkai tennis team, invited us to go to their school to celebrate the school's founding anniversary with them. The founding anniversary will be held tomorrow at eight thirty in the morning. I expect all of you to come." Tezuka announced._

"_What if we refuse, captain?" Momo asked._

"_We'll meet at the front of Rikkai's entrance at _exactly_ eight thirty o'clock! Those who will arrive late will drink Inui's juice." Tezuka answered, well at least that's how he answered Momo's question._

_The regulars' faces turned pale. It seems like Tezuka won't accept 'no' for an answer. They should come whether they like it or not. Ryoma's instinct was right! He hated this kind of stuffs but he has no choice but to go._

_The team's cheerleaders heard the announcement Tezuka said. Tomoka immediately yelled begging for them to come, too. Tezuka has no choice but to let them come as well since coach said 'the more the merrier' and even asked the ichinen trio to come. But to be honest, he would have let the girls come even if coach wasn't there because of someone. _

END OF FLASHBACK

The two girls who read Rikkai's sign before smiled at the wonderful scene. Sakuno and Tomoka were early and arrived at around eight o'clock because they're very excited. They decided to stay there until their other friends arrive. Thirty minutes passed and they were all complete. Tezuka was surprised to see the two girls, since he thought he was the first one to arrive like always. Ryoma unbelievably made it in time (three seconds early, according to Inui's wristwatch) but he was panting when he arrived. Maybe the thought of him drinking Inui's juice made him woke up early and move fast. With no further ado, they entered the school.

Everything looks exciting. The games, booths, and even the plays/movies/cartoon/ they're featuring are amazing. Everyone is happy and enjoying the whole place. The team entered the building and climbed the stairs to get to the second floor.

While the seigaku students are busy sightseeing, Sakuno saw something appealing to her eyes. She saw good-looking cakes. She walked away from the group and approached the advertisement with pictures of different kinds of cakes and pastries. She entered the room next to the advertisement and was surprised to see the room crowded even though the whole school just opened.

--00--

The team didn't notice the girl's disappearance and continued to walk.

"Ne Tezuka, where are we going anyway?" Taka asked.

"Yeah, we've been walking for a while now." Eiji complained while he placed his hands at the back of his head.

"We're going to Sanada's room to list our name to the V.I.P list."

"V.I.P list? What for?" Oishi asked.

"You'll see." Tezuka calmly said.

"Is it some kind of special treatment where you'll be able to play freely at the games and eat as many as you can without paying?" Momo excitedly asked.

"You have nothing in your mind but food, stupid porcupine head!" Kaidoh said.

"Take that back, Mamushi!"

Their little fight began with the matching Oishi calming them down, Fuji smiling sadistically and Tezuka annoyed, you know, the usual. Tomo smiled at her 'happy' senpais and whispered something to Sakuno. "Hey Sakuno, it's really fun being with these guys huh?" When she looked back and saw no Sakuno, her eyes widened. She searched for her in front to see if she's there, calming the senpais as well, but she's not. She's nowhere to be found! Tomo yelled which caught everyone's attention. "What's wrong with you, Osakada?" Horio asked.

"S-SAKUNO! SHE'S GONE!" Tomo yelled.

"Wait! Calm down! Maybe she's in the girl's room." Oishi tried to calm her down.

Knowing her best friend very well, Tomo was sure that she's lost. "B-But this is her first time going here! S-SAKUNO'S LOST!" Tomo panicked.

"_Again._" Ryoma muttered while pulling down the brim of his cap.

* * *

Next time: Sakuno entered the 'Saori's coffee shop' and ended up working there! Oh, and here comes the other rival teams! What's this? Marui is blushing while staring at Sakuno? Will Seigaku be able to find Sakuno before the V.I.P treatment comes? Find out in the next chapter of "A day at Rikkaidai."


	2. Saori's coffee shop

A/N: Hi! I'm back! I never would've expected that many liked this fic. So, as I promised, here is Chapter two! Thanks for the reviews, anyway!

Thanks for the 10 reviewers for the first chapter!

-**yi-chan, kawaii.meiko, Anonymous, FujixSaku0709, AppleShortCake, Kikyo10, xXHitsuxSakuXx, Funabisenu, LilliumKiss, and SnowCharms**-

The OCs in this chapter:

Saori Tetsu- a third year student in charge of the cooking club's coffee shop.

Miyuki Minaguchi- Saori's second year cooking student.

DISCLAIMER:

Teacher: Class, who owns prince of tennis?

Ren: (Raises her hand) Not me!

Teacher: Right!

* * *

Chapter two: Saori's coffee shop

"Sakuno-chan's LOST!?" Eiji yelled.

"Oh no! What are we going to do, Tezuka?" Oishi panicked.

"Calm down. We don't need to look for her. I'm sure she's enjoying this place herself. I'm also sure that she won't leave until she either finds us, or we find her," Tezuka said still as stoic as ever.

They continued their walk.

"B-But what if she's being held hostage? And she's being threatened to be those abductors' slave? And what's worse? What if they forced her to make them her delicious bentos?!" Eiji panicked.

'_That is not good. No one has the right to eat her bentos, but me! If I ever found out who abducted her, I'm going to kill them!' _Ryoma thought.

"Stop panicking," Tezuka ordered, "we're here. Room 209, V.I.P meeting place."

They entered the room and saw Sanada writing down something in his paper. Sanada greeted them politely. "I'm glad that Seigaku could come."

"We can't deny the offer, Sanada. My teammates are also happy to be here," Tezuka said.

Sanada looked at Tezuka's companions. All of the team's regulars are there and there are also four members he didn't know. "Tezuka, who are they?" Sanada said gesturing at the first years.

"The three guys are first years from my tennis club and the girl is our schoolmate. We also have another companion but she's missing," Tezuka explained.

"Missing?" A familiar voice entered the room.

"Yukimura!"

"Yeah, our little sister is missing and she's Echizen's girlfriend," Momo said.

"Hey! That's not true!" Ryoma denied.

"I see. I'm monitoring the whole school so maybe I'll see her later. What does she look like?" Yukimura asked.

"CUTE! ADORABLE! HAS TWIN BRAIDS! HER HAIR COLOR IS AUBURN-" Eiji was cut off by Oishi.

"Eiji! I'm sorry about his behavior. She has the same height as Echizen and is very polite," Oishi continued.

"Sakuno is very apologetic! She's also a great cook and a good singer!" Tomo added.

"Well, well, look who's here," Another familiar voice entered the picture. They all turned their heads to where the voice came from.

"Seigaku" the familiar voice said.

"H-Hyotei!" Momo said surprised.

--00--

Sakuno entered the room and was surprised to see the place full even though it just opened. The tables and chairs look like the ones in a coffee shop. She passed by the tables and went to the windows for a nice view. Even though Rikkai is a school, it's still filled with wonders of nature. Sakuno smiled at the beautiful scene outside the window. Cherry blossoms are in bloom and there are other trees and flowers. While she's appreciating the wonders of nature, someone patted her back and said, "What are you doing, Miyuki? Stop daydreaming and start working!"

Sakuno was surprised. It seems this girl mistook her for someone else. She tried to explain but the girl dragged her to the kitchen. "Make three orders of menu A and two orders of menu C," the girl ordered.

"B-But I don't work here! I-I'm a…." The girl cut Sakuno's words.

"Don't try to get away with this! Remember, you're the one who volunteered to help me in this shop! And don't try to act innocent! Even though I'm not wearing my glasses today, that doesn't mean I can't recognize you! Now, if you want me to stop this endless nagging, GET BACK TO WORK!" The girl yelled.

"B-But!" Sakuno can't find the right words to explain the situation.

The girl who nagged her, Saori, left the room and left Sakuno alone in the kitchen. Sakuno turned her back on the door and sighed. When she opened her eyes, her sadness was filled with delight. The room is glowing because it's complete with kitchen utensils! New and improved kitchen utensils! I mean, sure Seigaku's cooking room is great but they lack facilities so Sakuno can't bake there without any worries. But here in Rikkai, the facilities are complete! She quickly grabbed some things and looked at menus A and C. "All right! This is my time to shine! I can finally make these stuffs without worrying for lack of proper utensils! Here I go!" Sakuno started mixing ingredients together and humming tunes, completely forgetting that she has to find her schoolmates.

--00--

"I never thought that you guys are going to be here." Atobe said.

"Heh. Seems like they got here before us, Atobe." Oshitari said.

Then, three groups entered the room again. Kawamura pointed out one group. "I-It's Fudomine!" Eiji looked at the other group. "Look! Yamabuki's here, too!" Oishi looked at the last group, "I never thought that Sanada would invite St. Rudolph here as well".

"Seigaku, Fudomine, Yamabuki, St. Rudolph and Jyosei Shonan are here. The only ones left now are Shitenhouji and Rokkaku," Sanada said while writing something in his paper again.

"I see. We're almost complete. Can't wait till the other two comes," Yukimura said with a nice smile.

"You invited several rival teams here, Sanada," Tezuka said.

"Anyway, the seven teams need to sign up for the V.I.P list".

"What is the V.I.P list anyway?" Inui asked.

"You mean you guys don't know?" Kamio asked.

"Stop teasing them, Kamio," Tachibana said.

"Tezuka sure knows how to surprise his teammates!" Sengoku said.

"The V.I.P treatment: The Rikkaidai tennis team made it especially for our rival teams. Take this," Yukimura handed them a piece of paper each. "As you can see, there are list of games written down there. All you have to do is to participate in those games. You have to show those papers in the manager of the game. The manager of each game will give you a challenge and you must fulfill it. Then, he or she will score you according to your performance. The top eight with the highest score wins".

"Sounds exciting!" Eiji said.

"Excuse, me. What is the prize for the winners?" Mizuki asked.

"One week stay at one of Atobe's luxurious hotels" Sanada answered.

"Heh. Even if I win or not, I can still stay there for free. But I doubt that I'll lose, ne Kabaji?" You know who said it.

"Ossu." You know who answered.

"Wait! Can non-regulars join in?" Horio asked.

"Sure," Yukimura gave Horio, Kachiro, Katsuo and Tomoka the same piece of paper. "Thanks!" The ichinen said.

"Wait! What about Sakuno-chan?" Eiji asked.

"Why are you so affected by her disappearance, Eiji-senpai?" Momo asked.

"HUH? Well… I uhm…just… you see… I want to…. Uhm…"

"It's because Eiji likes Sakuno," Fuji said with a sadistic smile.

"WHAT!?" Kaidoh, Taka, Oishi and Momo yelled. Tezuka glared at Fuji and Echizen coughed.

"Who's Sakuno?" The other teams asked.

"O'chibi's girlfriend and so NOT my crush! I already told you, I don't like her that way!" Eiji denied.

'_Ii Data…'_ Inui wrote down something in his green notebook.

"How can you be sure Kikumaru-senpai likes Ryuzaki?" Ryoma asked. _Bad mistake._

"Echizen's affected! Echizen likes Sakuno and he's getting jealous of Eiji-senpai!" Momo teased.

"WHHHHAAATTT!?" Another familiar voice yelled.

They all turned to see who it is. It's our beloved Shitenhouji!

"Ryuzaki-chan is TAKEN!?" Kintarou asked emphasizing the word.

"Stop acting like an idiot, Kin-chan," Shiraishi said.

"B-BUT!" Kintarou tried to protest but he saw Shiraishi removing his bandages. Kin-chan paled as soon as he saw this and he kept quiet.

"Kin-chan, please keep quiet," Chitose Senri said.

"Y-Yes..." Came Kin-chan's reply.

"It's been a while," Tachibana greeted his old friend.

"Yeah".

--00--

"_Another order of Menu B!"_

"_Welcome! What is your order sir?"_

"_Someone, clean table 2!"_

Voices of different people are heard inside Saori's coffee shop. Sakuno prepared different kinds of pastries and made extra just in case. Then, Saori knocked at the kitchen door and called for Sakuno. "Miyuki! Come here!" Sakuno's name is not Miyuki! But Sakuno decided to go with the flow.

"Y-Yes?"

"You're amazing today! What happened to the old, clumsy-always-breaking-things Miyuki? Well, whatever it is, I'm so proud to be your senpai! You made improvement in your baking skills! Senpai is so proud of you!" Saori said dramatically with matching teary eyes. True, Sakuno is clumsy but she becomes a different person when she enters the kitchen. It's like Ryoma when he enters the tennis court.

"T-Thanks… but… I'm not Miyuki," Sakuno finally said.

"Don't be too humble!"

"But I'm not!"

In one of the tables…

"AWESOME! This cake tastes good!" Marui said.

"Just make sure that you're chewing it, Bunta," Jackal said.

"Hey! Can you call who made menus A, B and C to go in here, please?" Marui yelled at one of the waitresses.

"He's not listening" Jackal muttered before taking a sip in his coffee.

"Sure!" A girl replied.

"Hey, Saori-senpai! Marui-senpai called for Miyuki-chan!" a girl knocked at the kitchen.

Saori stopped messing Sakuno's hair and questioned the girl who called her little Miyuki. "Why?" Saori asked. "I don't know. But remember our motto: We cannot deny a customer's request!" The girl smiled then proceeds to her work.

"Marui?" Sakuno asked. She remembered him as one of Rikkai's tennis team regular; he's the guy who kept on chewing bubblegum. "I wonder why he called you?" Saori asked.

"I don't know..."

Back to Jackal and Marui's table, Marui kept on eating his last piece of cake. "Why do you want to see who made that cake?" Jackal finally asked.

"You see, I promised to myself when I first got addicted to sweets that I'll marry a girl who makes the best sweets!" Marui answered.

"What if he's a boy?"

"Then, I'll force him to be my best friend and make me sweets every single day of his existence".

"Baka," Jackal muttered. '_He's as ignorant as Kirihara and Tooyama._'

Then they saw two girls approaching their table. "We're not going to order again" Jackal said. "You idiot. She's the one Marui-san wants" Saori said.

"S-SHE'S THE ONE?" Marui stuttered.

"Y-Yes… My name is Ryuzaki Sakuno," Sakuno introduced herself.

"What are you talking about? Sorry. She's Miyuki Minaguchi. She's my student in cooking class. She's in second year class 2-D. Anyway, why do you want to see her, Marui-san?" Saori asked.

Marui sat still. He stared at Sakuno for a while. He's in another world now. Jackal noticed this and quickly apologized for his partner's actions. "What's happening to you?" Jackal asked.

Sakuno blushed because he's been looking at her for quite some time now. Then suddenly, a girl with auburn hair banged the door open and quickly approached Saori. "S-Sorry Saori-senpai! I slept in!" The girl said with a bow.

Saori was surprised. She quickly took a quick glance at Sakuno, then Miyuki. How can there be two Miyukis? What happened? She quickly wore her eyeglasses that she left in her bag. She examined the two girls and noticed her mistake. She's really embarrassed now. "What a mistake" Jackal said. The real Miyuki just arrived. "SORRY! I didn't know you were saying the truth! You really looked like my kouhai! Sorry! Sorry! Please forgive me!" Saori apologized to Sakuno.

"No, no. It's okay. I had fun in the kitchen," Sakuno said.

Then unexpectedly, Marui grabbed her wrist. Sakuno was surprised by his actions then she blushed.

"M-Marry me!" Marui shouted.

"W-WHAT!?"

--00--

"Oh no," Eiji said.

"What is it?" Oishi asked.

"I just had a bad thought".

"What kind of thought?" Momo asked.

"Marui just asked Sakuno-chan/Ryuzaki to marry him," Fuji, Eiji, Kintarou and Ryoma replied.

Hyotei, St. Rudolph, Fudomine, Seigaku and the Shitenhouji members looked at them. It's funny that they all had the same thought. Yukimura smiled and said that the girl is lucky to have four guys fighting for her. Sanada stared at Yukimura.

"Well, minus me 'cause I told you, I don't like her that way," Ryoma said.

"Me too!" Eiji added.

"Well then, let's add Tezuka, Choutarou and Marui," Fuji said.

"What!?" Choutarou asked, "Why me? I don't even know her".

"Saa… we'll see," Fuji said sadistically and earned a murderous glare from Tezuka and Ryoma.

"So anyway, you can't be with you're co-members in this V.I.P game. Please exit and head separate ways now," Yukimura said.

They did as what they told. Ryoma decided that he would first participate in the archery game. But while he was walking, he saw a commotion in a coffee shop in the first floor. He stopped to peek inside.

--00--

"This is not a flirting place!" Saori scolded Marui.

"Marui, what are you saying?" Jackal asked.

"What the heck happened while I was away, anyway?" Miyuki asked.

But Marui and Sakuno didn't hear any of the commotion. Marui held her two hands and lifted them in his chest and stared at her seriously. "I'm serious. Please marry me. I'm Marui Bunta," he introduced himself.

"B-But we just met and…" Sakuno stuttered.

"I love you. Both you and your cooking".

Ryoma saw all of this and enters the picture. He stared at the two but they didn't seem to notice him. A vein popped in Ryoma's head and stared at Jackal. His eyes are asking 'What the hell happened here?'.

"E-Echizen… Marui just proposed to her," Jackal answered.

The place is crowded now because they want to see this love scene.

Anyway, back to Marui and Sakuno's world. "And… I don't care if we just met. You're beautiful. I stared at you for a while because I found you gorgeous".

"R-Really? No one has ever said that to me before…" Sakuno smiled. Ryoma got jealous.

"B-But… I already like someone else. I'm sorry." Sakuno added. Ryoma smirked.

Marui didn't hear her apology and leaned forward. HE WAS ABOUT TO KISS HER! Of course, Ryoma stopped him. He covered Sakuno's lips with his hand. So, Marui kissed Ryoma's hand. Marui immediately went back to the normal world. "What the heck are you doing?" He asked.

"Stopping you from making out with her," Ryoma plainly said.

Sakuno blushed. Because of embarrassment, she ran away from the place. "R-Ryuzaki-san! Hey, don't go! You're a great cook! Please work for me for another hour!" Saori yelled but Sakuno was too far away now. "Another loss for me…" Saori muttered. "What was that, senpai? Are you saying that you want her to be your student instead of me?" Miyuki asked. "Duh" Saori answered.

"Look what you did! She really wants that kiss!" Marui scolded Ryoma. "Hn" He replied. "Stop it, Bunta!" Jackal said.

Ryoma walked away. He was not feeling comfortable now. '_Why did he have to do that to her? Not that I care! It's just that… seeing her being harassed by some guy… it's just… DANG IT! She can't even protect herself! What if I was not there to help her? If I wasn't there, then she just lost her first kiss! From that glucose-loving guy!_ _Maybe she'll even love it. Tasting something sweet from that guy's lips! So, who cares if she kissed someone? I don't care! I DO NOT CARE!' _Ryoma yelled in his head.

Sakuno ran away as fast as she can and she ended up in some random room. When she opened the door someone yelled, "CONGRATULATIONS!"

Sakuno was startled. What trouble is she in now?

* * *

Next time: Sakuno entered this mysterious room filled with… GUYS! But whatever happened in there, she came out looking happy carrying a lot of things. Find out what happens in the next chapter of "A day at Rikkaidai."

A/N: Yeah, I know... you guys were expecting a lot from this but I think you guys are disappointed... I'm so ashamed! But please leave a review. Thanks again for the reviewers!


	3. The angel that will change the devil

DISCLAIMER:

A/N: This is a short chappie, so please don't expect too much from it. In this chapter, there will be a slight Kirisaku for Kirisaku fans! Oh, and btw, please forgive me if I updated late. Actually, this is the first time I ever used my computer this week! I was so busy preparing for college and stuff. And what's worse? This morning is our CAT enrollment. Why do we even have to attend CAT? I mean, we're not soldiers, are we? But I think they're only doing it because they want to discipline senior students. –Sigh- being a graduating student is tough… I'm so tired, my back hurts, our officers are shouting at us, I have an exam on Monday, I have to wake up early tomorrow, and I should shut up now, huh?

Please enjoy.

Another special thanks to the reviewers!

**-FujixSaku0709, songstress08, jv(anonymous), xXHitsuxSakuXx, Funabisenu, part2(anonymous), SnowCharms, Luna Harmony and Jenn(anonymous)-**

DISCLAIMER:

Teacher: Class, who owns prince of tennis?

Ren: (Raises her hand) ME!

Teacher: Wrong!

* * *

Chapter three: The angel that will change the devil within him

Sakuno ran away as fast as she can and she ended up in some random room. When she opened the door someone yelled, "CONGRATULATIONS!"

Sakuno was startled. What trouble is she in now?

The room is dark but she can clearly see a stage. After someone yelled 'CONGRATULATIONS' to her, the lights turned on and she saw about fifty tables, with five chairs each, with guys sitting there. This room is filled with guys! The guy who yelled 'congratulations' to her held her left hand and pulled her to the stage. "What is happening here?" Sakuno asked.

The guy lifted his microphone into his mouth. "You miss, are our 50th guest this morning! So, you will have the chance to win," the guy pointed his index finger to one table with free prizes, "Those tickets!" The guy clapped his hands.

"What are those tickets for? What do I have to do to win? Who are you? Where am I?" Sakuno asked.

"That's some question you got there, missy! You're in the karaoke room, I'm your host, you have to sing to win, and those tickets enables you to participate in any games FOR FREE!" The host screamed cheerfully.

"O-Oh" Sakuno managed to say a word.

"And now! The moment we've all been waiting for, please welcome (the host asks her name) RYUZAKI SAKUNO to sing, WHITE LINE from that popular anime, Prince of tennis!" The host announced.

"The prince of tennis? I've watched that anime! It's pretty great!" Sakuno said.

The lights turned off again and everyone focused on the stage. Confetti scattered all over the room and the lights focused on Sakuno's area. The host gave her his microphone then he sat down in one of the tables, smiling.

The music then started…

"Uh!" Sakuno was surprised and starts to stutter, but she's got no choice but to sing.

_Whatever the future may be from this moment,_

_Our glory days begin from here._

_There is a line under the blue sky,_

_Opening a brand new door_

_As we hold our hands gently with smiling faces_

_We can faintly feel something—friendship_

_As though there are no more languages in this world to describe,_

_All of the memories we share_

_Whatever the future may be from this moment,_

_Our glory days begin from here._

"T-That voice… Who is she?" Both Kirihara and Yanagi asked.

_As we swing our uniforms, the wind brings them together_

_Into a pocket_

_If we try to go towards the sound of our echoes,_

_We can feel something that we cannot see_

_If we collect all the hopes in this world, Hey,_

_Please lead us to the route of courage_

_Whatever the future may be from this moment,_

_Our glory days begin from here._

_Whatever the future may be from this moment, _

_Our glory days begin from here_

The song ended with everyone stunned at her. She blushed from embarrassment thinking that they did not like it and threw random things at her. The host then stood up from his sit then looked at the judges. The judges were stunned. Then suddenly, one of them formed a 'thumbs up' then clapped. After that, Sakuno gave the microphone back to the host and decided to run away from the embarrassment but the host grabbed her wrist then held her hand in the air.

"SHE GOT 100!" The host yelled. Then the crowd cheered.

This time, Sakuno was stunned. She thought her voice sucked that everyone in the room is going to throw tomatoes at her, but they didn't. Instead, they cheered and the judges gave her a hundred!

When the host let go of her wrist, she stood still in her place, shocked. Then every guy in the room stood up and approached her. She didn't know what to do. She blushed every shades of red known to man's existence and stuttered. "Guys! Please form a line!" The host said. Luckily the guys formed a line and the man in front gave Sakuno a gift. Sakuno thanked him then the guy went back to his seat. The next guy gave her another gift and so on.

Sakuno's hands were full of gifts and stuffed toys from guys she didn't even know. The host finally gave her prize. She thanked him and proceeds to the exit door. Suddenly, two guys blocked her way. Those two guys were Kirihara Akaya and Yanagi Renji. Yanagi gave her a paper bag.

"You've got a lot of gifts there. Take this paper bag and put all those gifts in here." Yanagi said. Sakuno thanked him then placed all of her gifts in the bag.

Kirihara blushed at her then gave her a small figurine. It's an angel figurine that he made himself from the pottery room.

"Thank you, Kirihara-kun," Sakuno smiled.

"H-How did you know my name?" Kirihara asked.

"Oh! I'm sorry. You fought our team in the nationals. I'm one of Seigaku's students. I also cheered for the team," Sakuno explained.

"Oh".

Sakuno left the room carrying the paper bag Yanagi gave to her.

"Ne, Yanagi-senpai… she's… beautiful and… sweet," Kirihara said.

"100 percent you gave her that angel figurine is because you think she's an angel," Yanagi said.

"Yeah… and another 100 percent for having a voice of an angel." Kirihara said, obviously having his own world, like Marui before. Sakuno sure knows how to make other guys enter another world, huh?

"Well, you two can never end up together because she's an angel, and you're the devil".

"She's the angel that will change the devil within me…" Kirihara said.

"You're freaking me out, Akaya. But what the heck! New data for me".

"The angel that will change the devil within me… The angel that will change the devil within me…" Kirihara muttered standing still in his place. Yanagi left Kirihara muttering to himself then went to Sanada's room.

* * *

Next time: Sakuno bumps into Yukimura and after he left, Atobe popped up and locked themselves in a room! Is he harassing Sakuno? Will Ryoma be able to help her this time? Or is he busy joining that Archery game? Find out in the next chapter of "A day at Rikkaidai."

Please read and review even if it is corny…

Ren


	4. Be awed by me

Special thanks to:-**songstress08, FujixSaku0709, red-jello04, Funabisenu, Midnight City, xXHitsuxSakuXx, theonlyme26, SnowCharms, LilliumKiss, and Prinx**- for reviewing! I'm glad that you guys like it!

DISCLAIMER:

Teacher: Class, who owns prince of tennis?

A student from behind: (Raises her hand) Ren!

Ren: Hey, that's not true!

Another student from behind: It is! It is true!

Teacher: They don't pay me enough to do this job… Students… it's not Ren, it's…

Ren: Konomi Takeshi-sama.

* * *

Chapter 4: Be awed by me

Sakuno was still wandering around Rikkai. She smiled as she looked at her presents given to her by some strangers. She turned into a corner and bumped into someone since she's not paying attention to her surroundings. She dropped her bag and her gifts went flying off everywhere. Yukimura, the person she collided with, helped her stood up and picked the items scattered all over the floor. Luckily, the figurine Kirihara gave her didn't get broken.

"Thanks for helping me," Sakuno bowed.

"No problem. Anyway, are you Ryuzaki Sakuno?" Yukimura asked.

"Y-Yes. How did you know?"

"Auburn braided-hair, adorable, cute, polite, very apologetic and the same height as Echizen," Yukimura answered. "Here," Yukimura gave her a piece of paper; same as the ones he gave the other teams. He explained the rules of the games. "I will head off now," Yukimura smiled gently then left her alone in the hallway.

'_Maybe I should give the tickets I won to senpai-tachi as an apology for leaving them without permission._' Sakuno thought.

She decided to go to the haunted house. She walked downstairs but she accidentally collided with someone, again. Sakuno fell down the stairs but the guy she collided with didn't.

"Oh my gosh! Look what you've done, Atobe!" Ootori yelled. "We should take her to the infirmary," Shishido said. Atobe quickly helped her stood up. The only reason these guys are together is because they spotted each other in the same spot when they finished their first games.

"I-I'm sorry! It was my fault. I wasn't looking. Don't worry about m-" She was cut off when she realized that the guy who bumped her was Atobe, Hyotei's monkey king as what Ryoma informed her.

"Ore-sama won't apologize but ore-sama felt bad so ore-sama will take you to the infirmary," Atobe said.

"Why won't you just admit that it was all your fault?" Oshitari said.

"No. I'm really okay. Don't worry about me," Sakuno said as she stood up.

Atobe stared at her for a while before she walked away, but before Sakuno got away completely, he grabbed her wrist.

"What the heck are you doing now?" Oshitari asked. Atobe turned his head to his teammates and smirked. "She's not awed by me".

His teammates stared at him. "Don't! She's just a helpless little kid!" Shishido said. Sakuno was stunned. She never knew she someone would actually say that in front of her. Yeah, she looks like a kid but no one ever dared to say that to her.

"I got to go," Sakuno said pulling her wrist away from Atobe but he just tightened his grip on her. "Please… let me… go. It h-hurts," Sakuno stuttered.

"No. I have to do something important first," Atobe said.

"Atobe!" Choutarou tried to stop his captain but Atobe dragged her inside an abandoned room. "What should we do, Shishido-san? He's really going to do it!"

"Choutarou, I think I know that girl. I think she's the missing girl from Seigaku".

"What!? We have to inform Seigaku then!" Choutarou panicked.

"Don't panic. We can do something about it," Oshitari said.

Then someone approached them. "Who's with who?" The mysterious guy asked.

--00--

Atobe locked the room they were in. Somehow, Sakuno wasn't nervous. The thought that he would rape her never hit her. Good thing he really wasn't. "Your name?" Atobe asked, though it sounded like he ordered her to tell him her name.

"Ryuzaki Sakuno," Atobe smirked.

"Do you know me?" Atobe asked leaning forward.

Sakuno squeaked then blushed furiously. "Y-You're Atobe Keigo, Hyotei's tennis team captain. You defeated Tezuka-buchou in the Kantou tournament, but you were beaten by Ryoma-kun in the nationals," Sakuno answered.

"Oh. So you do know ore-sama. But… why aren't you happy? I'm flirting with you now and you're not happy one bit. You're not awed by my beauty…"

He wrapped his arms around Sakuno's waist. (A/N: Please imagine the height difference.)

"Anyway, you know Tezuka? So does that mean you're a student from Seigaku? Hn. I'll make sure that you're going to be awed by my prowess." Atobe boated.

"Hehe… I'm sorry," Sakuno gave a weak laugh. "I already like someone..."

"You like Tezuka? Well then, I'll make sure that you'll give up your love for him and start loving me".

"I don't even know you that well".

"I'll first give you a kiss you won't forget." He was about to kiss her when…

_BANG!_

Someone unlocked the door and bangs it open.

"Stop harassing my girl," The mysterious guy from before said seriously. This guy's name is Marui Bunta.

"Sorry about that, Atobe," Choutarou apologized, rubbing the back of his head.

"We can't let you do that to a girl. Now, let's participate in the games written in the paper," Oshitari added.

"Che. Fine then. Let's continue this love scene _after_ I won the V.I.P game, Sakuno," Atobe said while standing up and leaving the room. Marui glared at him madly. He wanted to kill this guy. More precisely, this Atobe guy.

He helped Sakuno stand up. "Are you okay? Did he do something else to you?" Marui asked worriedly. "N-No. But how did you get the key for this room?" Sakuno asked.

"I'm the one responsible for the keys in every room in this school for the day".

"Oh. Anyway, thank you for protecting me," Sakuno bowed.

"Anything for my wife," Marui said. Sakuno blushed. She walked away shaking.

"S-SORRY ABOUT THE KISS! WE'LL CONTINUE THAT LATER! I PROMISE I'LL GIVE YOU A SWEET, FAT AND WET KISS LATER!" Marui shouted loud enough for her to hear. But unfortunately, random people heard this as well. Sakuno blushed redder than before.

--00--

Atobe is the kind of person who wants to have everything he wants. Of course, he has no problem financially. This time, though, he can't buy Sakuno. His money is useless when it comes to the thing he wants most. The worse is he thought Sakuno is in love with Tezuka! Since Atobe really becomes competitive when he thinks of Tezuka, add the fact that he wants to have everything he wants, he will steal Sakuno from him (though Tezuka never really 'owned' her).

"Ne, Oshitari," Atobe began.

"What is it?" Oshitari asked as he looked at his captain.

"Ore-sama has finally found his princess," Atobe smirked and looked at the picture he secretly captured of Sakuno using his cell phone.

"You mean… she's the one who's going to marry you and take over your father's company with?" Choutarou asked in a panic mode. Shishido noticed Choutarou's weird behaviour.

"Yeah… And she is not allowed to deny the offer…"

Atobe walked pass them and smirked. Ootori, Shishido and Oshitari felt nervous of whatever Atobe is thinking.

--00--

"Sanada…" Yukimura called.

"What?" He asked.

"I met a really cute girl today," Yukimura smiled sweetly.

"Really?" Sanada said in a not-caring tone.

"I wonder… if she _also_ _loves_ me…"

Sanada spit out his coffee as soon as he heard this. "Also loves?" He asked to confirm.

"Yes, I love her…" Yukimura said in a scary voice but he kept his warm smile.

"But you just met her! Whoever she is!" Sanada looked at his captain's eyes.

"Okay, you got me," Yukimura laughed a little, "I'm only _interested _in her".

Sanada felt nervous. Not because his captain is about to fall in love with a girl, but because falling in love means getting distracted from your thoughts… and if Yukimura-buchou gets distracted… then what would become Rikkai's tennis team? '_Please fall in love _after _you graduated high school!_' Sanada thought.

'_That girl is really interesting… hmm… I wonder what kind of a wife she would be? I wonder if she would take "the child of God" as her husband?_' This is what Yukimura is thinking behind his smiling face.

--00--

Meanwhile, Ryoma kept on missing the bull's eye in the archery game. He kept hitting… PEOPLE!

"Okay, thank you… Echizen-san. That's 4/10 for you," The manager of the archery game said as he wrote Ryoma's score on his paper.

"What!? Why only four?" Ryoma asked.

"Please state out the obvious," The manager said while rubbing his temple.

* * *

Next time: Some Seigaku regulars finally found Sakuno entering the haunted house. Eiji protests, Momo saw Ann, Kamio saw Momo looking at Ann, Fuji smiles, Ryoma saw Sakuno entering the haunted house with Fuji, Ryoga showed himself, Akaya and Marui found out that they both like the same girl, Tezuka is irritated, and Inui wrote down something in his notebook. Find out the about the commotion inside the haunted house in the next chapter of "A day at Rikkaidai."

_Additional notes:_ Sanada and Yukimura were inside Saori's coffee shop at the last part while they were talking. Atobe used his phone to capture Sakuno's confused face when he locked them inside the room. Atobe locked Sakuno and himself inside the music room and Atobe walked pass the archery room where Ryoma was playing when he left Ootori and the others…

Oh yeah, Marui is also hiding a _cupcake inside his pocket_ when he rescued Sakuno… a _chocolate_ cupcake… XD

A/N: I think that this chapter is bad... it doesn't have anything exciting... if i could, i would flame myself for this crappy chapter!A short chappie… but please leave a review anyway! Please tell me how it turned out, bad, good or worse? Any grammar or spelling mistakes? Please inform me!


	5. Commotion in the haunted house

A/N: Sorry for the long wait! I was busy with school and stuff. In fact, I should be studying right now but I don't feel like it, hehe. Anyway, I made this chapter long as an apology for not updating sooner. Sorry again for not updating for a while!

Another round of applause for the following reviewers! Thanks for the loyal support!

-**red-jello04, ****Charmane****, ****xHitsuSaku****, ****theonlyme26****, FujixSaku0709, yi-chan, ****mikihinna****, XXXXKagome KanameXXXX, reader173, phoe2k, Jenn, ****SnowCharms****, ****DarkXSpades****, ****songstress08****, ****omasuta-chan****, and Anonymous**-

Oh yeah! I made a tini-tiny bit of a NanakoxRyoga pairing here. I think they look cute together!

The OC in this chapter:

Nami Hiragizawa- 2nd year student in Rikkai and the manager of the haunted house booth

DISCLAIMER:

Teacher: Ren, who owns prince of tennis?

Ren: (pointing at another student) Him.

The other student: That's right. It is I, Konomi Takeshi.

Teacher: Correct!

Ren: I do not own Konomi and anything he owns.

On with the story!

* * *

Chapter 5: Commotion in the haunted house

The hallways of Rikkai are still filled with people. Two identical boys walked around and saw a particular girl with two braids entering a creepy room.

"Ne, Kouhei… I think I saw that girl before…" A purple-haired guy said.

"Yeah… me too," His twin, Kouhei said.

Youhei and Kouhei still thought about the girl they saw before even after a few minutes. They were sure that they saw her somewhere. Somewhere… where is somewhere?

'_I think I saw her in one of our matches in the kantou tournament…_' Youhei thought.

"I've got it! She's with Seigaku!" Kouhei exclaimed.

"Oh yeah! She's the girl-" Youhei was cut off when he bumped into someone.

"Oh! Sorry! I wasn't looking!" The guy said.

"Kin-chan! Hurry up! We need to finish the game before anyone else does!" A gay-ish voice said.

"'Kay! Wait for me Koharu-chan!" The guy, who was discovered to be Kin-chan, yelled. He lifts his arm and waved goodbye to the Tanaka brothers and ran off.

"That guy is Tooyama Kintarou of Shitenhouji…" Kouhei glared at the disappearing figure of Kintarou.

"I don't like him," Youhei glared at Kin-chan, too.

"He's too childish…" Kouhei continued. They saw Tezuka, Inui and Kawamura in the hallway as well but they just ignored them.

Inui said that he saw Sakuno entering the haunted house. Kawamura suddenly got worried because he thought that Sakuno might get scared and pass out.

Tezuka sighed a relief since he knows that his kouhai is fine now. Is he relieved that she's fine as a kouhai or as a girl?

--00--

Echizen residence…

Nanako heard footsteps coming down the stairs. She already figured who it was.

"Nanako-chan, where's Chibisuke?"

"Ryoga-san! You should have woken up early if you're looking for your brother!" Nanako scolded.

"Just answer the question…" Ryoga rolled his eyes.

Nanako's brows twitched and a vein pooped on her head, which Ryoga immediately noticed.

"I-I mean… please, just answer the question Nanako-chan!" Ryoga panicked while stepping back.

"A festival… in Rikkai…" Nanako rubbed her temples.

"Thanks," Ryoga yelled while running off the house as fast as he can. He knew how scary Nanako is when she's angry. He's the only one who can make her that mad. Even Nanjiroh can't.

A blush suddenly reached on Nanako's cheek. '_Baka Ryoga-san!_' Nanako thought while looking at the porn magazines she collected from Ryoga's room. "He's even more perverted than uncle!" She said to herself.

--00--

"Welcome to our haunted house! Just be sure you won't die inside there!" The manager of the game joked.

"We won't die so don't worry, manager-san," Fuji smiled.

The manager, let us call her Nami Hiragizawa, blushed as she looked at Fuji's smiling face.

"So anyway, what's the challenge? I have this V.I.P game card," Fuji broke the romantic scene, which didn't bother him since he didn't notice.

"V-V-V.I.P? Oh yeah… I forgot!" Nami snapped out from her thoughts.

Just then, someone came dashing inside the reception area where Fuji and Nami where.

"HI! I have a V.I.P game card, too!" He said.

"Oh, it's you Eiji," Fuji smiled.

"Hey there, Fujiko!"

"Welcome! Since both of you are players of the V.I.P game, I guess my challenge would be… hmm…" She thought for a second before she came up with a plan.

"Kikumaru-san, you should enter the haunted house and play a ghost there… while Fuji-san… you should enter with a partner and come out of there without getting scared," Nami said.

"Wait! Why is my challenge so hard? That's so unfair!"

"No, my challenge is a funfair!" Nami joked, no one laughed, and the background suddenly changed into snowy mountains.

She sulked in a corner while murmuring something like, "I know I'm not that good at jokes but they should have at least laughed…"

"S-Sorry! We didn't mean to!" Eiji said and smiled a little. Nami went back to her place while looking down, literally and figuratively.

Suddenly, the door opened again and someone walked in. It's Sakuno. Eiji smiled and gave Sakuno a big bear hug.

"SA-CHAN! It has been a while! I was so worried! I thought you were kidnapped!" He said while squishing his kouhai.

"C-Can't breath… s-sen-p-pai!"

"You better let go of her… she's choking…" Fuji said with a freaky smile.

"Oops! Sorry 'bout that!"

"It's okay…" Sakuno said.

"Nami-san, I pick her as my partner," Fuji suddenly said. He looked at Eiji and smiled sadistically.

"Jealous?" He asked Eiji.

"W-WHAT! No! She's O'chibi's, remember?" Eiji defended.

Fuji smiled again. "Nami-san, she also has a V.I.P game card. Is it okay if she's my partner?"

"S-Sure," The broken-hearted Nami said as she saw how Fuji wanted to get near Sakuno.

--00--

Ryoga arrived at Rikkai. He placed his left arm above his brows as he looked at how huge the school is. He smirked and enters the place. He saw a guy he immediately recognized as Momoshiro and went towards him.

--00--

Ryoma finished his archery game and went inside the haunted house booth. He stopped to look at the displays that were hanging out from the room. He stared at it and yawn. '_They expect people to get scared of this? So boring…_' Ryoma thought. Just then, he saw Fuji with Sakuno entering the haunted house. His eyes widen and he suddenly went to the reception area. The manager of the game looked at him.

"M-May I help you?" Nami asked.

"V.I.P game," he replied.

"Oh. Hmm… let's see… your challenge will be…" while she was thinking, Ryoma suddenly went inside the haunted house.

Nami saw him and tried to stop him but it was already too late. She went inside the haunted house and grabs Ryoma's shirt but Ryoma shove her hand away.

Ryoma felt like someone was stopping him by grabbing his shirt so he quickly shoves the hand away. He can't let Fuji be with Ryuzaki alone in a dark room where many ghosts will suddenly appear. What if she gets scared? Will she hug Fuji? Even though Fuji is a respected player, he's still a sadist and Ryoma knows that he can't be stop when he's in the 'sadist mode'. He might return the hug and takes advantage of the moment by stealing a kiss or something.

Suddenly, another hand grabbed his shirt and lifted him up. He looked at the person and he saw it was…

"Ryoga!" Ryoma was surprised.

"Hey Chibisuke! I didn't know you were enjoying your life here while leaving your big brother alone inside a house with Nanako-chan!" Ryoga smiled childishly.

"Let go of me!" Ryoma said.

"Echizen… you know it's against the rules to go inside the games without first knowing what your challenge is! What if you were suddenly disqualified?" Momo popped out from Ryoga's back.

"Sorry, miss. I'll return this stupid brother of mine in the reception area," Ryoga looked at Nami and smiled flirtatiously.

"S-Sure," Nami was surprised when two guys suddenly popped up out from nowhere.

When they were about to exit the haunted house (Ryoga was still lifting Ryoma by his shirt), Momo saw Ann… with Atobe!

"Oh no, you don't!" Momo suddenly murmured.

Ryoga saw Momo walking away and stopped him.

"Oops! Not you, too! Momo-chin," Ryoga said while he grabbed Momo's shoulder.

"Don't try to stop me!"

"Honestly! You'll get inside once you know your challenge! Kids these days!" Ryoga looked at Ryoma's hilarious position.

Luckily, they got the chance to calm Ryoma and Momo down to get them to the reception area.

Nami cleared her throat and said, "Echizen-san, since you and Momoshiro-san eagerly wants to go inside the haunted house, I guess I just have to give you Fuji-san's challenge as well".

"What challenge?" They both asked.

"Get a partner and go inside the haunted house without being scared. It's easy," she replied.

"Is that all? Good," Momo said then hurriedly went inside with Ryoma.

Nami turned to face Ryoga, "If you're entering the haunted house, please pay 100 yen".

"What!? 100 yen!? I can't! I don't have any money!" Ryoga said.

"Fine. Then please get out," Nami tilted her head. '_It's only 100 yen! He's over-reacting!'_ she said to herself.

"No! Chibisuke and his love life are in danger! I have to save him!" With that, he hurriedly went inside the haunted house.

"M-Mister!' Nami called but Ryoga already went in. She was about to catch up to him when she saw a piece of paper she assumed that Ryoga 'accidentally' left. She picked it up and looked at it. She noticed that the piece of paper was 'coincidentally' money! It's a foreign one, too. Nami smiled and let Ryoga pass without any fight for she's now two hundred dollars richer.

--00--

"It's pretty dark in here…" Sakuno said on a trembling voice.

"Saa… don't be scared. I'm here to protect you, Sa-ku-no," Fuji smiled again.

Sakuno blushed and turned her head down.

Meanwhile, Ryoma and Momoshiro are hiding behind a mummy statue. Ryoma is concentrating on Sakuno and Fuji while Momo was looking at the other side watching Atobe and Ann.

"That jerk! He's getting _too _close! I'm going to kill him!" Ryoma whispered.

On the other hand, "That jerk! He's getting _too _close! I'm going to massacre him!" Momo whispered.

Just then, Ryoga arrived. He stood there and looked at Momo and Ryoma. A sweat drop formed in his head as he looked at how miserable the two looked. Dark auras coming out from their bodies, and their eyes looks like they're ready to kill somebody.

"Fuji-senpai, you… (Cursing)" Ryoma said which Ryoga heard and made him surprised.

"Kusso! Atobe you… (Worse level of cursing)" Momo grabbed the mummy statue and almost breaks it just by tightening his grip.

Ryoga noticed a zombie statue moving from behind him. At first, he thought it was his imagination but then, the zombie attacked him! The zombie strangled Ryoga in the background but unfortunately, Ryoma and Momo ignored this.

A zombie statue was strangling Ryoga, and his brother and his friend just ignored him! He almost cried comically since his brother betrayed him. The zombie kept on strangling Ryoga even when he's in 'drama mode'. He got irritated at the zombie since he's distracting him from is 'drama' and kicked the zombie's face.

The zombie's costume broke and it was discovered that the person who was wearing it was Kikumaru. Kikumaru cried a fountain of water since he failed his challenge. Ryoga sweat dropped again. In Eiji's midst of crying, he saw O'chibi and Momo-chin. His crying stopped and run towards the two.

"O'chibi and Momo-chin! I never knew you guys are here!" He hugged his kouhais but he saw that they didn't bother to acknowledge his presence. He looked at Ryoga, "What's up with these two?"

Ryoga pointed Fuji and Sakuno's direction and Atobe and Ann's direction. Eiji made another huge grin and giggled.

--00--

"Do not think that ore-sama is doing this because he likes you. Ore-sama already has a girl in mind and she's far more better than you would ever be," Atobe said not looking at Ann.

"Well, don't think that I'm doing this for you! I'm doing this for nii-chan so that he could win that vacation at that hotel!" Ann said.

"I'm only doing this because of that stupid challenge!" They both said together.

"Glad that we agree at something," Atobe said.

"Same here," Ann murmured.

--00--

"My challenge is a what!? This is the easiest challenge I've ever encountered yet!" Kamio yelled.

"He's right. It is the easiest challenge. But then again, it might not be since we still haven't gone to the other games but I'm sure that the challenges there would be harder than this. The only hard part in this is looking for a partner. I'm not sure if anyone would like me to be his or her partner. I wonder if it's a girl or maybe a boy? Though I would prefer a girl. I'm just joking. I would accept any partner since I'm only doing this so that I could win the prize at that luxurious hotel. I doubt that I would win though… since there are greater players than me. Count Tachibana-san there. But then again, it's not tennis and I maybe better than them in this…" Shinji kept talking even if anyone is not listening.

Nami looked at him and sighed. "I kept on meeting weird tennis players here! I wonder why Sanada-senpai invited them? They're pretty weird!"

"Well _sorry _for being weird!" Kamio said sarcastically. He looked at the logbook and signed his and Shinji's name. He looked at the other names written in it and saw Ann's partner was Atobe!

"ATOBE'S WITH ANN-CHAN!?" Kamio asked (yelled) at Nami.

"Y-Yes… they just entered here…" Nami stuttered.

"So… Kamio is my partner? Why? Is it even possible that the both players of the V.I.P game…" Shinji continued but everyone just ignored him.

"Shut up! Let's just go in! Ann-chan might be in trouble!" Kamio dragged Shinji in.

--00--

Kamio and Shinji saw Kikumaru, Ryoga, Ryoma and Momo hiding behind another statue, namely a grim reaper.

"It's them. And another person whom I do not seem to know but I guess it has something to do with a movie that were not in… I assume it has something to do with a cruise ship and a guy called Sakurafubuki…" Shinji continued talking again… and making spoiler for the movie.

"Why are you guys hiding? Scared?" Kamio laughed looking at Momo.

"They're looking at their girlfriends and their dates!" Eiji grinned.

"And it's a pretty cool scene!" Ryoga smiled.

"Girlfriends?" Kamio asked.

"Girlfriend… a term used to identify a girl you are currently dating…" Shinji said.

"I know what that means! I meant who are their girlfriends!?"

"It's Ryuzaki-chan and Ann-chan!" Eiji said.

Kamio suddenly coughed and looked at the direction Momo was looking.

--00--

"Ne, senpai… I think someone is following us…" Sakuno said.

"Don't worry. It's just your imagination," Fuji grabbed Sakuno's shoulders and peeked behind the grim reaper statue. He smiled sadistically again.

"Sakuno," Fuji began (Ryoma glared at Fuji for lack of use of formality), "Please do not be afraid of what I'm going to say to you… but," he stopped.

"What is it?" Sakuno trembled again.

"There's a yuki onna behind you," Fuji pointed at a yuki onna behind Sakuno. (A/N: Yuki onna- a snow lady wearing a kimono… I guess)

Sakuno looked behind her then she paled. She looked at front again and trembled. Suddenly, she screamed and fainted.

"Uh… Sakuno? Oh my…" Fuji grabbed Sakuno's falling body.

--00--

Ann and Atobe heard a girl screaming. "What was that?" Ann asked her partner.

"It's my heiress!" Atobe said and run off, "Ore-sama no hime!" (Translation: My princess!)

"A-Atobe! What do I do now? I don't have a partner! Wait for me!" Ann followed Atobe.

Atobe stopped to look at Ryoma and his companions. Ann caught up to him and noticed Kamio and Momoshiro.

Ann smiled, "Momoshiro-kun, Kamio-kun! I'm glad you guys are here!"

"Ann-chan! I'm glad that you are fine! B-But… there's some trouble there…" Kamio scratched the back of his head.

"Yeah… we heard Sakuno-chan screamed and it looks like she passed out," Momo added.

"Don't just barge into people's conversation," Kamio yelled.

"She's talking to me, duh!" Momo yelled back.

Their little ramble began.

"Ryuzaki…" Ryoma murmured. Yep, he's still concentrating on Sakuno and ignoring everyone around him.

"Ore-sama's going to help!" Atobe said.

"Stop!" Ryoga ordered.

"Who are you to stop ore-sama?"

"I'm older than you, A-to-be…" Ryoga teased.

They glared at each other before Fuji started to lean in to Sakuno. Eiji noticed this and got everyone's attention.

Suddenly, Tezuka appeared out from nowhere and stopped Fuji.

"I predicted that there is a 99 percent chance that Fuji is going to give her a mouth-to-mouth resuscitation," Inui suddenly popped out like a mushroom.

Everyone jumped in surprise. "Inui! Don't surprise us like that!" Eiji said.

"What mouth-to-mouth resuscitation? She didn't drown!" Atobe said.

Inui grinned.

--00--

"She didn't drown. Fuji," Tezuka said.

"I know… I'm just going to give her a kiss to make _someone_ jealous," Fuji is still a sadist after all.

"I'm not jealous," Tezuka gave Fuji a death glare.

"Really? Well, I'm not talking about you but I guess you are guilty. I've caught you in the act, Tezuka," Fuji giggled which made Tezuka (and Ryoma) mad.

"100 laps around the court tomorrow," Tezuka plainly said.

"Tezuka," Atobe went to them, "I know you like her, and she likes you… but she's going to be mine. You can't stop that".

Every person eavesdropping before went to them.

"STOP THIS MADNESS!" Eiji yelled.

"Okay," Fuji said.

--00--

"So, is everyone here?" Yukimura asked.

"Everyone's here, buchou!" Kirihara smiled.

Yagyuu noticed that Kirihara seemed to be extremely happy today. Sanada noticed this, too.

"Just hurry up with the darn meeting! I have to meet someone later!" Marui said.

"Yeah! Me, too!" Kirihara added.

"What happened to those two?" Niou asked Jackal and Yanagi.

"Ball-of-fat was in love-at-first-sight mode. He met her at Saori's coffee shop earlier," Jackal answered.

"Yeah… the devil, too. You won't believe me, but he said that she'll be the angel that will change the devil within him!" Yanagi said.

"Sakuno-chan is great! She's the best girl I've seen in my life!" Both Ball-of-fat and devil said.

They stared at each other for a while.

Yukimura giggled and Sanada sweat dropped. "Looks like we have competition here…" Yukimura said.

"Y-You like _my _Sakuno?" Kirihara asked.

"That's my line!"

"This is bad. They're going to wrestle each other now. Stop them," Yanagi said.

The two suddenly attacked each other and they fell into the ground.

Niou and Jackal stopped the two from fighting and tied them both in a chair.

"Where'd you get the rope?" Jackal asked.

"I always have them in case I have to trick someone…" Niou answered. Everyone sweat dropped, except Yukimura who smiled in return.

"That's too bad, Marui and Kirihara," Yukimura looked at the two.

"What's wrong, Yuki?" Niou asked.

Yukimura smiled at everyone, "I like Sakuno".

Sanada paled. '_No, no, no! I said you shouldn't fall in love until after you finish high school!_' Sanada said to himself.

"So… Ball-of-fat, devil and buchou likes the same girl? A real competition for ball-of-fat and devil…" Niou said.

"What's up with the girl anyway? Is she really that good to make the three of them suddenly fall for her?" Yagyuu asked.

"She is pretty and nice… I guess it's just the timing," Jackal said.

"She's from Seigaku, too" Yanagi said.

Marui and Akaya made determined faces. "So what if buchou likes her? I will still fight for her!" They both said.

"You guys look pathetic in that situation. You have no chance against me. Sakuno also likes gentle guys like me. You have 0.00 percent chance of making Sakuno fall for you," Yukimura continued in the background.

Sanada sweat dropped as he looked on how Yukimura turned into a devil while talking to his teammates. '_I knew it! He's even making competitions against his teammates! I know falling in love will only ruin your tennis!_ _Yukimura… why?_'

"Buchou is scary when he's becoming a sadist…" Yagyuu said.

"Yeah…" Niou and Jackal both agreed.

"_My tensai-ness can make Sakuno like me! Believe me or not, she already likes me! She even asked me for a kiss!"_

"_Sakuno-chan loved the figurine I made myself. She even smiled sweetly at me when she accepted it!"_

"_Sakuno will never like guys like you. She likes the 'child of god' already. Stop making daydreams and look into reality…"_

The three kept on verbally fighting each other with dark auras coming out from their bodies.

--00--

Sakuno woke up a few minutes later. As her vision cleared, she noticed that she's still inside the haunted house. She looked around and saw her senpais and some students from other schools.

"Good thing you're all right," Fuji said.

"You're always so clumsy, pigtail…" Ryoma added.

"Chibisuke was worried about you!" Ryoga made face-to-face contact with her.

"O'chibi was jealous of Fujiko as well nya!" Eiji laughed.

"I am not!" Ryoma defended.

"We saw you!" Momo said and everyone laughed.

Sakuno blushed and looked away. "I-I'm sorry for making you guys worry…" She remembered her prize and the karaoke room before. She got something out from her pocket. "H-Here!" She showed them the tickets she won.

Everyone looked at the tickets, confused. "What's that for?" Ann asked.

"It's some tickets I won. If you present this to the booth you're going in to, it will enable you to participate for free," Sakuno answered, still looking away.

"Does that include food?" Momo suddenly asked.

"Y-Yes…"

"Great! Thanks!" Momo was about to grab the tickets when Fuji stopped him. "Why senpai?"

"Sa-chan won that, not us. She should use that for herself," Fuji said.

"And besides, it's so 'unmanly' if you to take that from a girl!" Kamio added.

"D-Don't worry! I really won this for you guys! It's for running away without any permission from senpai!" Sakuno defended.

"It's okay. The good thing is that you're fine. You should just enjoy yourself. Now, continue with your game. We will not bother you any further," Tezuka said.

Tezuka and Inui walked away together. Ghosts suddenly appeared in the path they walked unto but they just continued walking as if no ghosts were scaring them. The 'ghosts' sweat dropped.

"Let's just get this over with…" Ann said to her partner.

"Che. I wanted to be with my hime," Atobe said but he has no choice but to finish the game with Ann.

"Saa… Sa-chan, let's go… to our paradise!" Fuji said. He grabbed Sakuno's hand and intertwined them.

Ryoma glared at Fuji but Momo suddenly dragged him out. "Let's go Echizen! Let's finish this so that I can chat with Ann-chan!"

"What do you mean? I'll finish this challenge first then!" Kamio suddenly run with Shinji.

"Not if I can beat you into it!" Momo run after Kamio dragging Ryoma with him.

"Let go of me, Momo-senpai!" Ryoma yelled.

"No chance! I have to beat that Rhythm guy first!"

"Looks like you got to explain this to the manager of the game!" Eiji said looking at Ryoga and showing him the costume that he broke.

"I didn't mean to break the costume, nya-chan!" Ryoga said.

"Don't call me nya-chan! Come on! I blame you if I got no points in this game!" Eiji and Ryoga walked off.

--00--

Nami waited for the V.I.P players to come out of the haunted house. She heard a girl screaming and she thought it was Sakuno. She sighed as she waited for her players. Suddenly, a strong wind came out from the exit of the haunted house followed by a smoke.

"W-What was that?" She asked herself.

As the smoke cleared off, she saw two figures panting in front of her. She was surprised and saw it was Momo and Kamio dragging their partners with them.

"H-Hello… How's the haunted house?" She asked, nervously.

"Is Ann-chan here yet?" Kamio asked.

"The girl with short hair? No," Nami answered.

"We finished the challenge! Write down my point now!" Ryoma suddenly said.

"R-Right," She wrote 10 for each of them.

"I'm out of here," Ryoma said as soon as he received his game card back.

"I'll wait for Ann-chan/ Tachibana's sister!" Momo and Kamio said.

The door opened again and it was Sakuno and Fuji who opened it. They both went to Nami's place and ask her for their score.

Ann slammed the door open and went to Nami's place, too, followed by Atobe. "Give me my score now so I can get out of this filthy place," Atobe said.

"This place only got filthy when you entered it," Ann rolled her eyes.

Before Atobe could reply, Nami quickly said, "S-Sorry… but please let Ryuzaki-san and Fuji-san get their scores first".

"Whatever. Just give my hime a perfect score," Atobe said.

Nami grinned. "Sorry. But I heard her screamed. She can't have a perfect score if she didn't fulfill my challenge!"

"Oh. The scream? That was an accident… she fell in a hole in there. She screamed not because she's scared of a yuki onna," Fuji said.

"Hole? What hole? There's no hole in there. I'm sorry, but…" Nami suddenly stopped when Fuji came close to her.

"She.Fell.In.A.Hole.Manager-san," Fuji said as he opened his eyes.

Nami trembled and forced a smile. "RIGHT! She fell in a hole! Perfect score for Ryuzaki-san!"

She quickly wrote her score and dispatched Sakuno.

"O-Okay then… thanks for having me…" Sakuno said as she went out of the booth.

"See you later, my hime," Atobe smirked.

"Baka," Ann murmured.

"Ann-chan… let's go! Maybe Tachibana-san and the others are eating their lunches right now," Kamio suddenly said.

"R-Right," Ann turned to Momo, "You want t come, Momoshiro-kun?"

Kamio glared at Momo

"What? Really? Well… it's too embarrassing but if you insist…" Momo scratched the back of his head, "Come on, Ryoga-san!" He called Ryoga.

"Free food? Sure!"

All of them exited.

"Thanks… Nami-san…" Fuji said then went off.

"Sure…"

--00--

He can't believe this. This is not happening. Just yesterday, they were all happy as a team and no one was fighting. They were practicing tennis happily and hanging out sometimes. When did it all end up this bad? Oh yeah… just this morning. When this girl suddenly popped up and made his buchou and his other teammates fall for her. What's up with the girl anyway? What the heck is _in _her that they all like? He must admit… she is cute… but! No way! He's not going to let this end up tragic. He's going to find out why they've fall for her. He's going to see what's in her that made them head over heels for her. And he's going to do something about it.

'_Just wait, Ryuzaki Sakuno… I'm going to find out how you made them freaks like this. You are not going to get away with this!_' He said to himself as he went out of their meeting room.

His teammates noticed his disappearance.

"Where is Genichirou going?" Yanagi asked.

"I think he's up to something…" Niou said.

Yukimura kept on talking with his teammates/rivals and the three did not notice Sanada leave the room.

To.Be.Continued!

* * *

A/N: So that's it… my long chapter… my long meaningless chapter.

Next time: It's lunchtime and we all know who wants to eat first! Of course it's Momo! Anyway, Sakuno participated in the onigiri-making contest and Kin-chan is the judge! Of course, other guys want to be the judge, too! If they got a chance to be one… it means they'll eat Sakuno-chan's mysterious bento! The bento that only _the _Echizen Ryoma knows what it tastes like. Okay! Let's get cooking!

Please review! Please, please, please!


	6. The best onigiri maker is

A/N: Here I am! I have updated the latest chapter. Hope you guys aren't mad at me for not updating sooner… Anyway, I have re-edited my first fic, entitled "_Fireworks display_". Hope you guys will drop by when you have time. Thanks again for the reviews and the supporters of this fic, I really appreciate them all!

The following reviewers should be given acknowledgement:

**theonlyme26**, **xHitsuSaku**, **reader713**, **DarkXSpades**, **Dera Sin**, **katrina**, **midnight blue08**, **phoe2k**, **rebeccasanfujieijilvr**, **red-jello04**, **Hikari-Kawaii**, **SnowCharms**, **darkcherrykiryu93**, and **XxFlowerAngelxX. **I appreciate all of your reviews!

Special thanks to the readers who have been with me from the beginning until today!

DISCLAIMER:

Konomi: (Whispering) You know, I own this.

Ren: (Whispering back) Yeah, I know…

Teacher: Keep quiet! What are you two talking about?

Konomi: About me owning this anime.

Ren: And about me owning the plot.

Teacher: Okay, good… on with the story!

* * *

Chapter 6: The best onigiri maker is…

"Sakuno-chan!" A loud voice was heard from the first floor.

Sakuno turned around and saw Kintarou waving his arms as he runs towards her. She smiled at him.

"Konnichiwa, Kin-chan," she greeted.

"Hey, have you heard about the onigiri-making contest? It's in one of the games listed in the V.I.P card!" Kintarou was seemingly hyper today, says a person who does not know what 'seemingly' means.

"Uhm… yeah, but I don't think I'll win that…"

Kintarou's eyes widen, "WHY NOT? You're like the supernatural being of rice balls! You would win any contest with that gift!"

"Y-You see… I was informed that many good chefs joined that competition so I…"

"So?" Without hearing Sakuno's explanation, he dragged her away as fast as he could.

They were both oblivious that someone was watching them from behind and taking notes of their every move.

--00--

GRUMBLE

Ann heard Momo's stomach grumbling.

"Oh yeah… I forgot… I haven't eaten my breakfast today…" Momo said as he felt his grumbling stomach.

"Don't worry, Momoshiro-kun! I'll give you some bentos I made for onii-chan," Ann said.

"Really? Thanks!"

Ann smiled then hid her blush.

"But you have to pay for it," she suddenly said.

--00--

Rikkai tennis team ended their meeting just a while ago. Though it didn't turn out to be a meeting like they intended. Everyone went to their designated areas and Yukimura noticed that his vice-captain wasn't there.

'_I wonder where Sanada went,_' Yukimura thought while patrolling the first floor of the school.

"Yukimura-senpai! How are you?" A random girl said.

"I'm fine… I'm looking for Sanada. Have you seen him?" Yuki politely asked.

The girl thought for a moment when she remembered something. "I don't know if it was him… but there was a guy wearing a costume from the theater club. He was wearing Sherlock Holmes's detective costume. He has a small notebook where he wrote some things."

"Are you certain it's Sanada?"

"Well… no. But he has the same height as him… and the way he moves, too. He's stalking two freshmen from other schools. One has twin braids and one has red hair."

Yukimura's eyes widen, "A girl with two braids?" He confirmed.

'_Don't tell me that he's… in love with Sakuno… Oh, destiny! Why have you forsaken our friendship?_'

--00--

Meanwhile, at the onigiri-making contest, Marui's irregular breathing, fast heartbeat and stiff body means that Sakuno is around but he can't see her. He looked all over the place and can't find one girl with two braids. He sharpened his eyes to look some more. As the door opened, he quickly looked at the person who entered and finally saw her, only to discover that she's with someone.

"YOU!" Marui said as he pointed his index finger on Kintarou. "Who the hell are you? You actually dare to take away my wife!?" Okay, so Marui went hysterical just because of that little thing.

…A small pause.

Kintarou looked around to see if Marui was pointing at another direction but found no one behind him. He pointed at himself and asked if he was referring to him.

"Hell yes!" Marui answered.

Suddenly, Kin-chan got furious. "Your wife? Sa-chan's not your wife! She's my wife!" Kintarou complained. The two redheads, whom looked very identical from afar, continued their argument.

Sakuno sweat dropped and diverted her attention at the contestants. As she looked around, she saw two identical boys staring at her. She wondered why they were so mad at her and carefully approached them.

"A-Ano… did I do something wrong?" She politely asked.

The two ignored her but still stared at her.

"I-I'm sorry!" She bowed her head and looked up.

The two boys now looked at her confusedly. They looked at each other and introduced themselves.

"No apologizing needed. We just wanted to examine our opponents first. By the way, my name is Tanaka Youhei," he said.

"And I'm Tanaka Kouhei. And we're…"

"A unity!" They both said.

While arguing with Kin-chan, Marui noticed that another guy is talking to 'his wife' and quickly went towards him.

"Another one? You dare steal her from me?" He yelled.

"I told you! Sa-chan is my wife!" Kin-chan disrupted.

"You guys are from the V.I.P games too, aren't you? I'm currently the manager of this contest for some random reasons so I'll give you my challenge now," a guy from behind them said.

"R-Ryoga-san/Koshimae the second!" Kin-chan and Sakuno both recognized him.

"Echizen's brother? They do look alike," Marui looked closely at Ryoga.

"You don't seem to reach the standards of a true manager, Echizen Ryoga. With that look, you'll fit perfectly as a garbage man in a dump!" The Tanaka brothers said.

A vein popped in Ryoga's head. He was about to curse the twins when he felt a dark aura behind him. He slowly looked behind and shivered.

"Ryoga-san, were you about to curse the two little boys?" The girl said while smiling creepily.

"N-Nanako-chan! What are you doing here, my love?" He asked nervously.

"Nanako-san! Nice to see you again," Sakuno greeted.

Suddenly, Nanako's smile turned into a sweet one, "I'm fine. Thanks for taking care of Ryoma-san," then her smile went back to the creepy one as she faced Ryoga, "Answer my question, Ryoga-san."

"N-No! I wasn't planning to!"

Then, in a chibi form, Nanako grabbed strangled Ryoga and beats him into a pulp.

"T-Talk about creepy…" Kouhei whispered.

After the short, but painful beating, Ryoga stood up; nose bleeding and face filled with bruises, and announced the V.I.P gamers' challenge.

"L-Let's see," Ryoga managed to make a weak laugh as he looked at Nanako, "Sakuno-chan will join the contest and it won't matter if she wins or not… Tanaka brothers and Tooyama will be the judge for the contest."

"HIME-SAMA JOINED THE ONIGIRI-MAKING CONTEST!" Someone suddenly yelled, which surprised them all.

"REALLY?" A bunch of manly voices said.

Sakuno and the others looked at the door and it suddenly opened up revealing a bunch of high school guys barging in.

"Oh my, who are they?" Nanako asked while covering her nose from the smoke the high school guys made out of maximum power of barging in.

"Heh!" A familiar voice said. "Marui-senpai sure does like a lot of attention from her, doesn't he?"

"Well, well, if it isn't our baby," Marui mocked.

"Kirihara-kun, it's you…" Sakuno recognized him as the smoke cleared off.

"This is the same guys from the karaoke room this morning. They're a big fan of yours, my angel," Kirihara said.

"Sa-chan…" Kintarou murmured.

--00--

Yukimura sighed. He looked at the tea he ordered. Saori noticed the bishounen's odd behaviour.

"Is something bothering you, Yukimura-san?" she asked.

"You see… it looks like Sanada and I both liked the same girl…"

"That is sad. Have you two talked about it?" she sat next to him.

"Are you really interested in this topic?" Yukimura suddenly asked.

"Well, yes. Since this morning, Sanada-san and Yukimura-san kept on coming here and ordering food and drinks from us! We can't let our number one customers sad now, can we?"

"Thank you, Saori-san." Yukimura smiled sweetly at her. "But… I won't be needing any advice. I think I can manage this on my own. Thanks anyway."

--00--

Kirihara asked Ryoga if he could join the contest. "You want to enter? Sure!" Ryoga looked at him with an unusual expression.

"Great! I WILL CRUSH THEM ALL and make sure Sakuno's going to win!" Kirihara smirked.

"I'll be the judge? Fine for me! At least I'll have a taste of Sa-chan's onigiri yet again!" Kin-chan laughed.

"Our unity is useless when we're the judge, Youhei," Kouhei said.

"I think we still need our unity in judging the food," Youhei looked at his blue-haired brother from the corner of his eye.

"We want to be the judge!" Kirihara's men said. See, these fans club of Sakuno only knew her this morning and they never had a taste of her bento. They heard a rumor from their leader, namely Kirihara, that only the Seigaku regulars had a taste of her cooking. But take note of this, all of them _except _Echizen Ryoma had tasted her bento only once. Talk about lucky, Ryoma-kun! As they heard this from Kirihara, they suddenly had an urge to kill the prince of tennis.

Ryoga ignored their desire to kill his brother, and announced the contest to commence.

--00--

This is the worse day of his life, no doubt about it. First, he had to wake up early and go to Kanagawa or else he'll drink Inui-senpai's juice. Next, guys instantly fell in love with Ryuzaki for no apparent reason! Third, he found out that his partner in this role-playing game is… Atobe. And worse than that… they're playing Romeo and Juliet and he's Juliet while Atobe is Romeo. And now… they're in for the kiss…

"NO! Ore-sama's not going to do this! Ore-sama already reserved his wonderful lips for his wonderful hime-sama!" Atobe yelled at the manager.

"Really? Then who is "ore-sama's" hime-sama?" the manager asked.

"Ryuzaki Sakuno, of course! I mean… Atobe Sakuno…" he answered instantly.

"Ryuzaki is not your hime-sama, monkey king!" Ryoma said.

"How can you say that, Juliet?" Atobe teased.

Ryoma glared at him, "Ryuzakiisnotyoursandshe'lldefinitelynotAtobebecauseyou'reAtobeandshe'sRyuzakiandshe'llneverbecomeanAtobeevenifyouwerethelastpersononearthbecauseshehatesyourgutsyouknow!" (Translation: Ryuzaki is not yours and she'll definitely not Atobe because you're Atobe and she's Ryuzaki and she'll never become an Atobe even if you were the last person on earth because she hates your guts you know!)

"Ore-sama is too good for your understanding that's why you can't understand him."

"Beg to differ," Ryoma murmured.

--00--

Tanaka brothers' POV

So, this Ryuzaki girl just became popular because of random reasons? That's weird, and these guys from nowhere wanted to have a taste of her onigiri so badly? What's so good about them, anyway? I must admit, she is kind of cute… but she's so childish! She's just a year younger than us. But… judging from the information that random people say, it looks like she's Echizen's girl. Too bad…

"Ne Kouhei, I think Kajimoto had once mentioned her."

"Yeah… I think so, too."

Then suddenly, the red-haired kid talked to us.

"Sa-chan is so popular now with the boys… I can't blame them though… she's just the cutest, onigiri-maker you'll ever see in you life! That ball of fat guy even fell for her! I thought I only had Koshimae as competition… And guess what, Atobe is involve!" The Tooyama kid went on and on but we just ignore him.

For a while, we looked at a wired guy wearing Sherlock Holmes's costume. He's looking at the redhead kid. We decided to ignore him since he doesn't seem important enough for our attention.

We continued on staring at the girl. She's looking uncomfortably at her fan boys. Well, whatever… you can't judge a book by its cover, right? Maybe deep inside her… she's an evil witch wanting every guy's attention and soon, after making them fall for her, she'll take advantage of their love and well… so on…

We will still not believe in any rumors or information from other people. We'll just see how this cute, adorable little girl became so popular. And we'll know the answer from this onigiri-making contest!

End of the twin's POV

"Ano… Tanaka-san…" Sakuno started.

"Which one of us?" the twins both asked.

Sakuno blushed for a moment and said, "B-Both of you… uhm… sorry for the trouble everyone's causing… It's my entire fault for entering this contest. I'm really sorry!" She quickly bowed her head low.

When Kintarou heard this, he quickly protested. After all, Sa-chan didn't want to join in the first place. He just forced her to do so.

"Anyway… stop the bickering! Sakuno-chan's fans club, you may join the contest… but please don't interfere with the judges' opinions and decisions!" Ryoga said.

When the guys nodded their heads, the contest began. She decided to make her tennis ball-shaped rice balls she made when the nationals were still on going. That was how she became friends with Kin-chan after all.

Kintarou observed Sakuno from his seat and only stared at her. The twins noticed this and told him to observe the other contestants, too but Kintarou ignored them and still watched Sakuno make her onigiri.

"Oh yeah… take note of this! You can also make any food other that rice balls but make sure it's Japanese food, okay?" Ryoga announced through his microphone.

Kirihara made his shrimp tempura but it burned due to the fact that Marui distracted him while doing so, by pretending that he's Sakuno and 'seducing' him. Marui's seafood fell in the ground because Kirihara tripped him while he's walking. Marui also tripped Kirihara then Kirihara put dirt on Marui's ingredients until they can't stand each other anymore and started wrestling each other, literally.

Ryoga stopped the two immediately and disqualified the two. He threw them off the room and warned them.

"This is all your fault, you baby," Marui glanced at the other side.

"It was yours in the first place! You just had to fall for Sakuno!"

"I met her first!"

Anyway, back at the contest, Sakuno made another batch of sushi rolls and laid them accordingly on the bento box. She also made octopus-like sausages and placed the pickles on its sides. And she's done! It's a simple bento but it's worth a try for the contest.

Not long after, everyone finished their own bentos and waited for the judges to taste their own.

Kintarou was the most excited out of them all. They never knew that he tasted her onigiri not only once, and he'll love to taste it again. The first onigiri she made that he tasted even fell on the ground! He was so lucky to meet Sakuno that time. Falling down the tree and being threatened by Shiraishi was all worth meeting Sakuno-chan.

The bentos are placed in the judges' table. Tanaka Youhei took a bento to let the three of them taste it. They first tried the poorly made onigiri.

"Bleh! The hell!?" Youhei shouted.

"My tongue hurts!" Kouhei said as he stick his tongue out.

"It's like a mixture of bitter gourd and oregano leaves! What do you call this?" Kin-chan asked.

"It's vegetarian-style onigiri!" the guy confidently said, "since I don't know how to make anything besides that."

The three of them looked at each other and gave him a thumbs down,

"Sorry, looks like you lost!" Ryoga said. "Next, we have… a group work done by Kirihara's men!" Ryoga puts the plate of onigiri on their tables.

The onigiri looks ordinary, but it's not poorly made like the first one. It has seafood fillings like tuna and salmon. They tasted it one by one.

"Kinda salty to me!" Kin-chan said.

"I don't feel the love in it!" Nanako interrupted when she took one and tasted it.

"What's the love for?" Youhei asked,

"It's not about following the recipe but following your own will. It's like playing tennis to have fun, not to win. It's like eating your mother's food even though it's a peasant's food. It's like feeling it's the best one you've ever tasted even though it tastes like mud!" Sakuno answered.

"Sakuno-san's right. Love is the most special ingredient in cooking," Nanako added, "you cannot be a taste judge if you do not know the most important part of cooking!"

Suddenly, Sakuno has become intense.

"Even the tastiest food in the world will stop being so tasty if it's not filled with your desire to make the people who'll eat it happy! That's why it is said that a person should never step into a kitchen if he'll only cook to eat!" Sakuno raised her voice and pointed at the three judges.

Kirihara smirked and murmured to himself, "You impressed me again, angel."

She turned her head to the group of guys who made it. "Tell me, why did you join in the first place? What's your motivation?"

The were silent but a brave guy answered, "We want to taste your cooking but Ryoga wouldn't let us be the judge so we just joined the competition to watch you cook! We just imitate your onigiri!"

"Imitation?" Sakuno's eyes flamed, "You shouldn't imitate others, but imitate your feelings! What have you felt when you were cooking?"

"In love?" they asked.

Kirihara gave them all a head punch. "Dare to take her away from your leader!?"

Sakuno interrupted him. "Then you should put your feelings in the food instead of imitating me! I don't cook because I want my grandparents, parents, siblings, other relatives, friends and senpais to eat! I don't cook because I like to cook, it's because I want to express my motion towards them…" she paused for a while, the flame in her eyes disappeared but her background turned into flames, "AND BECAUSE I LOVE TO COOK!"

Sakuno revealed her true passion for cooking! The kitchen is on FIRE! (Not literally)

Everyone was stunned and stared at her. Sakuno turned back to her normal sweet one and realized how rude she had been, "I'm sorry…" she lifted her hand in her chest, "I was so rude… I also cook to relive people's hunger…"

They all fell flat on the ground except Marui, Kirihara and Nanako.

"You're so great, Sa-chan!" Kirihara and Marui both yelled and raised their fists.

"That's a real cook!" Nanako smiled.

"Yeah she is…" Kin-chan said as he stood up and rubbed his head.

Sakuno's fan boys all cried tears of joy. "Don't just follow the recipe… the recipe has something in it that made it delicious. The people who made the recipes didn't write down the secret ingredient because they want the people to find what the secret ingredient is by themselves." They all said in unison.

"I'm glad you see it my way…" Sakuno smiled sweetly at them, earning them a blush.

"S-So… bring on the next bento…" Ryoga said.

They were given Sakuno's bento this time. Kintarou's eyes shined as he looked at it. He quickly grabbed one of everything and tasted it, so the Tanaka brothers followed him.

"_Let's see what it tastes like…_" Youhei and Kouhei both thought.

A strike of thunder filled their background. The meltdown of ice age, the Second World War and a girl wearing a swimsuit followed after.

Ryoga's sweat dropped, and grew bigger, "W-What's the background change for?"

Nanako upstaged Ryoga and took his microphone, "I-It's amazing! It's their reaction towards Sakuno-san's cooking! No, Sakuno-san's love!"

"I don't get it…" Ryoga said.

"Don't you get it? (A/N: That's what he said…) They're returning Sakuno's passion with an utterly strong and powerful expression! Just look at their eyes! They're shining!"

"What's this, Yakitate! Japan?" Ryoga murmured.

"But… what's up with a girl in a swimsuit?" a random guy asked.

The three judges went back to their normal state and cried tears of joy.

"Sa-chan… you never failed me… I love you more than ever now…" Kin-chan said as he looked at the onigiri.

"You prove yourself to us… we're impressed… I think… I've fallen in love with you… this onigiri is too good to be true…" Youhei said.

"This bento is filled with passion! I recalled our mom's cooking… when we were upset, that cooking made us happy… You really do make things possible… I love you…" Kouhei said as fountain of tears fell down of his face.

"So does that mean that Sakuno won?" Ryoga asked.

"Yeah…" the three judges answered.

"How about the other contestants?" Nanako asked.

The other contestants protested. The judges haven't even tasted their own bentos, and they already decided the winner.

Youhei and Kouhei eyes' got serious. They stared at the other contestants, "If we taste your bentos, will it make us happy? Will it prove anything? First of all, did you put any emotions on it?"

The other contestants were silent and withdrawn from the booth.

"Wait… I don't think I'm the winner. You should taste his cooking first." Sakuno pointed at a guy from behind.

They looked at who's she's pointing to. She pointed at Katsuo.

"Who, me?" Katsuo asked.

Sakuno smiled and nodded.

"Why him?"

"He has determination written all over his face when he was cooking. Besides, he's better than me, didn't you know? You should've tasted his cooking when we were at the training camp before we fought Rikkaidai in the kantou finals."

"Let me taste it!" Kin-chan snatched Katsuo's bento and ate some of it. "_Doesn't compare to Sa-chan's cooking! Why did she want us to-"_

"Kin-chan… it's full of emotions, isn't it?" Sakuno asked.

Kintarou got what she's saying. He sighed and told his co-judges his decision. The twins sighed and nodded. They whispered to Ryoga their decision and he announced it rather confused, "The winner and the best onigiri-maker is… none other than the first year Seigaku student… Katsuo Mizuno!"

"What? Me? B-But…" Katsuo was surprised. Kirihara and Marui tried to protest but was cut off when she spoke.

"Congratulations, Katsuo-kun!" Sakuno shook his hand, got her score in the V.I.P game card and left.

"What was that for?" Ryoga asked Kin-chan and the twins.

Kin-chan grinned and told him Sakuno's story. Sakuno observed Katsuo from the very beginning, even though no one noticed him, then saw his seriousness in his work. She also remembered that Katsuo is the one who helped her get better in cooking and thought of repaying his kindness by letting him win. She thought to make her cooking taste bad, but doing something like that to her cooking doesn't feel right so she just hoped that Kin-chan will understand her and let Katsuo win this time.

They all smiled at her disappearing figure and all thought that she's the most wonderful girl they have ever met. The Tanaka brothers found out the answers to their question by her personality and cooking but in exchange, they are now rivals in love. Broke unity.

Sakuno looked at the skies from the hallway window and smiled at the blue sky. She knows she has done something good today and she was proud. She looked at her V.I.P game card and went at her next game.

--00--

"Ryuzaki Sakuno, twelve years old. Her dominant arm is right. Born on January 14, her zodiac sign is Capricorn. She's in Seigaku class 1-1. She's 151 centimeter in height and she lives with her new family as of last month. She's good in cooking and has a great personality. She wants other people to be happy and is ready to give off her happiness for them. That's not really my best information. I still need to check her out…" the guy in the Sherlock Holmes's costume followed Sakuno's tracks.

T.B.C

* * *

Next time: She enters the theater club and bumps into Atobe again! When will he leave her alone? This time though, more of her adoring fan boys will come… including Yukimura and Ryoma. We'll also find some clues about her relationship with Tezuka and Sanada still follows her. Find out what will happen in their role-playing game next time on "A day at Rikkaidai".

Please leave a note if you must. I also didn't double-check this chapter so sorry for the wrong grammars & mispelled words!


	7. Gathered Role players

A/N: Hi! Sorry for not updating for... I don't know... a month? Please forgive me but today was our opening cerempny for foundation day (see more info below) and three weeks before that, we practiced ourselves to perform our silent drill... it's a c.a.t dance or something... Anyway, this chapter is kind of related, only a bit, to my other fic, "Fireworks display", and "A day at Rikkaidai" took place after that fic. I thought that I should at least give some clues on what Sakuno and Tezuka's secret is and I decided to write it in this chapter. So, if you find something here like a flashback of the summer festival, then you'll know the whole story in "Fireworks display." Thank you!

THANK YOU FOR THE REVIEWERS AND READERS! Like: **xHitsuSaku**,** Catfang**, **nertz**, **red-jello04**, **songstress08**, **xanne**, **katrina**, **midnight blue08**, **rebeccasanfujieijilvr**, **mikihinna**, **SnowCharms**, **rose anne**, **FujixSaku0709**, and **AlphaSigma**!

DISCLAIMER:

Teacher: Why were you absent?

Ren: I was playing tennis with Konomi-san

Teacher: Why?

Ren: Because that's the only way I can feel even with him in terms of owning this anime. But whatever I do, whatever I say, POT isn't mine. The Legend of Zelda isn't mine, too.

Teacher: Good

* * *

Chapter 7: Gathered Role players

"Sanada?" The voice surprised him and quickly hid his notebook. He looked at the person who called him and examined the person carefully. He was relieved when he saw it was his captain, but got back into his work.

"I'm not Sanada." With that, he walked away taking a quick glance at Yukimura.

"Sanada, wait!" Sanada stopped in his tracks as Yukimura called his name. "See? You've stopped. That means you are Sanada, Sanada."

"I just responded to the name you've called me, it's a natural reaction amongst humans."

"Sanada… is it true? Do you like Sakuno-san? Please tell me the truth."

"No. And I'm not Sanada." He walked away again and took out his small notebook.

'_Sanada… why?_' Yukimura thought as he walked to another direction sadly.

--00--

Tezuka walked around, still straight and stiff. He glanced at every room he passed by and stared dangerously at the people around him. He knew what was happening from the very beginning; he just ignored it. But, the situation is getting worse, he assumed. As minutes pass by, more and more opponents are coming. He doesn't know how to handle all 55 of them… and counting. He can't let his guard down, but how can he do that if he can't even see the person he was supposed to protect? His father is so going to kill him if he found out.

"_Protect her all the times, especially now, Kunimitsu!"_ the voice echoed in Tezuka's head.

"Otou-san… how can I? Especially… in this situation?" he murmured.

Yukimura saw Tezuka in a deep thought and grabbed his shoulder. Tezuka turned his head and acknowledged Yuki's presence.

"What are you thinking?" Yukimura asked.

"What do you mean?" Tezuka asked in a calm tone.

"You're in a deep thought, you see."

"It's nothing."

--00--

Ryoma took another sip of his ponta drink, in a dress. He stared at Atobe and the manager, in a dress. He looked at the backstage and all the props in it, in a dress. He turned his head down and felt awkward… in a dress. And lastly, Ryoma is… in a dress.

"Stop staring at me!" he shouted, just as the same time Momoshiro, Ann, Kintarou, Ootori and Shishido went in. He looked at the people who came in. They all stared at each other for a while.

Then suddenly…

Boisterous laugh filled the theater room. The people who came in laughed in a chibi form with tears flowing out from their eyes due to so much happiness.

"E-E-Echizen! Why-hahaha- the hell are- hahaha-you wearing a-hahaha…." Momo laughed out loud.

"Stop-haha- being so rude… Momoshiro-kun-haha! Though it's-hahaha- hard to-haha- stop laughing!" Ann laughed as she wipes her tears off.

"I'm so sorry for laughing, Echizen-kun, but," Ohtori cannot restrain any longer, "I just can't stop! Hahaha!"

"Hehe- I never knew that Seigaku has- pfft-hahahaha!" Shishido covered his own mouth.

Ryoma stared at all of them. He was ready to stand up to kill them all when he felt a strong presence behind Ann-chan. He peeked behind Ann-chan and saw a worried-looking Sakuno. (A/N: I accidentally wrote Sunako back there… I think I'm watching too much YamaNade this past few weeks! Nakahara Sunako-chan!)

This time, he was looking embarrassed. He turned around to hide his embarrassed face.

"R-Ryoma-kun… don't tell me you're…" Sakuno cannot completely hold it any longer. She tried to stop her tears and turned around to run away only to find herself stopped when Atobe grabbed her wrist.

Kin-chan stopped laughing and stared at Atobe, mad.

"Hime-sama… I'm glad you're here. It's now time to show the world our eternal love for each other, by simply sharing a love-filled kiss!" Ore-sama smirked.

Sakuno blushed and tried to escape Atobe's plan but she's too weak to escape him. She tried to run but she still stays in place. She tried again and turned into a chibi form.

"Stop it, hime-sama. You don't have to be shy!" Atobe carried the chibi Sakuno and faced the manager.

"This is ore-sama's hime-sama. If you mind… she's Juliet now." Atobe hugged Sakuno tighter with his right arm like a stuffed toy, considering she does look like one now.

"She's not a toy you know." Kin-chan interrupted. "Just to let you know… she's already taken. Pond, Temple, Fireflies, Tulips… does it ring a bell, Sakuno-chan?" he asked Sakuno but looked at Ryoma.

Ryoma choked from his drink. He remembered the summer festival three months ago. He hid his blush through Juliet's wig.

Sakuno blushed and glanced at Ryoma who was looking nonchalantly. "I-I do remember something like being with everyone in that particular day… but I don't remember any tulips…"

"If you don't remember then… then I will also forget!" Kin-chan grinned and took Sakuno from Atobe's hands.

"H-Hey! Give her back!" Atobe snatched Sakuno away but Kin-chan took a step backward. Everyone sweat dropped. They did the same thing for about ten seconds and in the last attempt of Atobe, he accidentally slapped a person.

A vein popped out of that person's head and his glasses beamed. Atobe recognized the person he slapped. It was his eternal rival in terms of everything.

"Tezuka." Atobe said his rival's name calmly.

"Atobe. Just what are you doing to my kouhai?" Tezuka asked in a deadly tone.

"I was just stealing back the person who was stolen from me," he laughed in a rude manner.

Kin-chan turned chibi and hugged Sakuno like a stuffed toy. Tezuka looked at the chibi Kin-chan and sighed.

"Tooyama… when will you ever quit?" Tezuka asked.

"I did quit! But Sakuno-chan forgot about it, so I also forgot about it!" Kin-chan grinned wider.

"What the heck happened anyway? What is he talking about?" Shishido suddenly spoke.

"It's something that happened during the summer festival. No need to care about it." Ryoma suddenly said.

"Summer festival? I was there too, wasn't I? What happened?" Momo asked.

"Nothing." Ryoma replied.

--00--

Sherlock Holmes eavesdropped during the whole conversation. He wrote something in his notebook seriously. He checked Sakuno's profile and it was written there that Sakuno lived with her new family just a month ago. He added this information to the one he got from their conversation. It didn't make any sense, unless…

"Summer festival… New family… Tezuka… Sakuno… Tulip… No, a flower doesn't have anything to do with it. What if… During the summer festival… Sakuno stayed with her new family? No! Summer festival was held three months ago. She just lived there a month ago! Okay, Sherlock! Calm down! Then what if… Sakuno's new family is Tezuka…?" Sherlock stared at his notebook for a while, "Impossible! I'll just gather more data then… Boy! I'm sounding like Renji and Inui!"

--00--

"Konnichiwa. Sorry for interrupting," Yukimura knocked on the door and when he opened it, he saw catastrophe. The tennis team members from other schools are arguing with each other. He walked slowly towards the manager, "Sano-san, what's happening here?"

"I'm sorry, Yukimura-kun! They won't listen to me!" the manager, Sano said.

"You're a great guy, I'm sure you can handle it."

"I'm sorry…" Sano turned to face the V.I.P gamers. "Excuse me, everyone. I-I am S-Sano Saoinji and I'm the manager of this booth. V.I.P gamers, please gather around me so that I could assign you your challenges."

Everyone looked at him. Sano got nervous and sweat continuously. "I guess… I-I should change the play we're having. What about…" Sano was interrupted when someone spoke.

"I have a suggestion!" Kin-chan raised his hand.

"Oh! May I know what it is?" Sano politely asked.

"The legend of Zelda!" Kin-chan jumped around.

"T-The legend of Zelda? W-Why choose that?"

"BECAUSE! If Sakuno-chan is Zelda, and I'm Link, then Sakuno-chan will be the damsel in distress and I'll protect her from evil and blah blah blah! What do you think?"

Just then, everyone looked at him slowly with blank eyes. Kintarou sweat dropped and looked nervously at the manager.

"O-Okay… then… you all should adlib. We're having a performance later with role-players as V.I.P gamers. It'll be held in less than 30 minutes… so please be ready." Sano said.

"WHAT!?" the V.I.P gamers yelled.

"Didn't you see the billboard? I put my flyer there. See?" Sano showed them his copy of the flyer he was saying. Momo grabbed the flyer rudely and read loudly.

"'To V.I.P gamers. From the theater club staff: Please be informed that every 10 V.I.P players that will enter the theater club room will have to perform, as a group, their play of choice. They will only be given a few minutes to prepare for their play so please plan and group yourselves as early as possible. Thank you…' You expect us to perform a play!?" Momo yelled.

"That's what you get when you don't notice the things that surrounds you…" suddenly, a new member came. "Ecstasy!" Shiraishi said when he was revealed.

"Shiraishi! I'm glad you're here! Use your poisonous hand to protect Sa-chan!" Kintarou said.

"No."

"I want to play too!" Yukimura suddenly butted in. "I think it doesn't matter if a non-V.I.P gamer join too, right?"

"I guess not…" Sano scratched the back of his head.

"The legend of Zelda? At least it's better than wearing Juliet's costume." Ryoma said.

"Since I'm here, then I'll join as well." Shiraishi said.

"Count as all!" The others said. "Let's do our best!"

"All right then, we'll imitate the story of the legend of Zelda: Minish cap to perform in the next 20 minutes!" Sano said.

Then, everyone coughed.

--00--

Tezuka sat at the bench next to the vending machine. He thought about what Yukimura said before.

"_Tezuka, I know you have a problem and I wouldn't mind helping you with it. Does it concern with your family?"_ _Yukimura asked._

"_My father, Kuniharu and grandfather, Kunikazu wanted me to do something for them. But it does not concern anyone outside the family." Tezuka explained._

"_Really? Well then… I shall not force this upon you. But if you want some help, I'm glad to listen. Bye then." With that, Yukimura left._

Tezuka stared at the skies before he noticed from the window some panicking people inside the room. He saw that almost everyone he knows is there like Sakuno, Ryoma, Shiraishi and Momoshiro. Just then, he heard two people passing by talking about the theater club's special performance about "The legend of Zelda: Minish cap" and it's characters played as the V.I.P gamers.

He looked at the flyer the two people dropped and read it. He suddenly stood up as soon as he finished reading it. "I better watch this one." he said to himself.

"_Theater club, special performance: "The Legend of Zelda: Minish cap" to be performed at 2:00 p.m. Please watch it as our new members play as the characters! Starring: Yukimura as Link, Ryuzaki Sakuno as Zelda and Atobe Keigo as Vaati! See you soon!"_

**T.**B.**C.**

--

Next time: The role-playing game continues as they make their own lines and scenes! What will happen to them? Will the audience be happy? And will Sherlock Holmes finally discover Sakuno and Tezuka's secret? Did he even remember that he was following her for the sake of his teammates? Oh well! Let's all find out in the next chapter of "A day at Rikkaidai" only on FFN!

A/N: What a hanger! I did it because I think that I have not updated for a month and I should make the chapter already. Anyway, did you know that today is our school's foundation anniversary? Yeah... I know that you guys already know because i mentioned it in the first part. It'll end on Saturday. I was thinking of making a scene or two about my own experience in our foundation week in this story. What do you think?

P.S Leave a review if you must.


	8. The Legend of Zelda The adventure begins

A/N: Hi! It's me again! I didn't take long to update this time! Here's the latest chapter as of now… I almost forgot! I got some of their lines exactly as what it was said in the real 'the legend of Zelda' game so I hope no one will sue me! The next chapters will also be the continuation of this one. The theater presentation will be divided into 5 chapters or so. I don't really know how many but I hope you understand that the legend of Zelda is too long for one chapter. Hope you enjoy it!

Warning: I'll change the genre for the special "The legend of Zelda" arc in this fic to fantasy and adventure! May also contain total OOCness and The legend of Zelda spoiler.

Thanks to: **Mois** (Mois! binabasa mo pala to! Di ko alam yun ah! Uy… binabasa mo pala fics ko ah! Aminin!) , **theonlyme26**, **xHitsuSaku**, **SnowCharms**, **songstress08**, **rebeccasanfujieijilvr**, **Charmane**, **red-jello04** (thanks so much for the advise! Appreciate it so much!), **FujixSaku0709**, **nertz**, **omasutachan**, and **zharpychan **for reviewing! Thanks to my loyal readers and reviewers, too!

DISCLAIMER:

Ren: I don't know why I chose the legend of Zelda as their play… I don't even own it… and so does the prince of tennis… so please, please! Don't sue me!

Teacher: It's okay…. You're not the only one. On with your story, my dear, dear student…

* * *

Chapter 8: The Legend of Zelda; The adventure begins

Marui paid the sweets he ordered at Saori's coffee shop. Miyuki gave him the box of cake he ordered and smiled sweetly. As Marui left the room, he quickly opened the box and grabbed a slice of cake. He was about to eat it when a random paper suddenly covered his face. He started panicking thinking he was blind and while running, he bumped into a wall and fell flat on the ground. He figured out that something was blocking his face and removed it. He stood up and read it. When he finished reading, he immediately run towards the theater club's room in a panic.

When he entered the room, he saw everyone dressed up as Hyrulian people. He almost cried when he saw Yukimura and Sakuno together in costumes. Yukimura didn't exactly wear Link's actual costume but he wore something that will make him look like a warrior. Sakuno's costume as Zelda is exaggerated. Zelda's real costume is a simple yet princess-like costume but Sano gave her a _Rozen Maiden_-like costume. Atobe's costume is black and completely antagonist-ly and suited best for his personality. The others are wearing ordinary peasant's costume and others are wearing monster-like costumes.

"It looks like we're short on people…" Sano worriedly looked at everyone. "I guess you guys will have multiple characters. Is that okay?"

"Sure!" Kin-chan replied.

"Oh yeah… let me explain something to you guys! This theater club isn't exactly like a normal one would be. This theater room is upgraded and the stage is simulated. The audience watches the play with the help of this simulation device. Through this, the audience can watch the play like they are in that real place! Isn't it awesome?" Sano asked excitedly.

"No." everyone replied. Sano went to a corner and sulked.

Marui interrupted them since everyone just ignored his entrance. "Sakuno is the protagonist, right? If that is so then I'll help and gather more V.I.P gamers."

Sano looked at Marui and nodded. He thanked the glucose-loving guy and Marui left hurriedly. "I'll be back in a few minutes!" Marui yelled.

"Marui-san is so nice, isn't he?" Sakuno smiled at Yukimura.

Yukimura smiled and nodded but deep inside, he cursed Marui.

"Let's all do our best! Don't be nervous and go with the story!" Sano said and the curtains rose up.

--&PoT&--

_"A LONG, LONG TIME AGO… WHEN THE WORLD WAS ON THE VEGRE OF BEING SWALLOWED BY SHADOW… A TINY PICORI APPEARED FROM THE SKY BRINGING THE HERO OF MEN A SWORD AND A GOLDEN LIGHT. WITH WISDOM AND COURAGE, THE HERO DROVE OUT THE DARKNESS. WITH PEACE HAD BEEN RESTORED, THE PEOPLE ENSHRINED THAT BLADE WITH CARE."_

Sakuno is the first one who entered the stage. She entered a small yet good-looking house and she approached an old man who was making a sword.

The old man turned and it was revealed that he was Atobe.

The audience started whispering with each other. "Isn't Atobe supposed to be Vaati?" someone asked.

Atobe heard the audience's murmuring clearly. A vein popped on his head. He knows that he's supposed to be Vaati but like what Sano said, they're short on characters and all of them have to play multiple characters or else this play will not end like it was supposed to be. And besides, old man Smith and Vaati will never encounter each other in this play.

"Good morning, Master Smith," Sakuno/Zelda greeted.

"Goodness me, princess Zelda! Did you sneak out of the castle and come all this way alone? The minister is sure to be worried about you! You know how he gets!" Atobe smirked and kissed Sakuno's hand.

Sakuno blushed, "O-Oh… don't worry about him… h-he'll be fine. S-Smith-san, Where's Link?"

"He's sleeping. Why not have fun with me instead?" Atobe said.

"Idiot! He's flirting with Ryuzaki-san, not playing the role of Smith! That baka!" Sano said to himself.

"Father, don't worry. I'm awake," Yukimura suddenly enters the stage.

"Link… a-ano… I want to ask you to go to the Picori festival to watch it with me. After all, the festival only happens once every hundred years!"

"Go on, Link… have FUN with Princess Zelda!" Atobe's voice is annoyed.

"Thanks. Let's go now."

"Wait. I just finished making this sword for the minister at Hyrule castle. I'd like you to deliver it to him." Atobe gave Yukimura a sword, which looks real. "This is the blade that will be presented to the winner of the competition. Don't lose it. And while the two of you may be childhood friends, remember… Zelda is the princess of Hyrule. You watch over her. Don't let anything bad happen to her." Atobe glared dangerously at Yukimura and peeked over Sano who was holding some of his lines.

"Don't worry, father. I won't. Let's go now, Saku—I mean, hime-sama," Yukimura smiled gently making Atobe more annoyed.

Sakuno and Yukimura went out of the house. When they were at the door, Sakuno saw Sano from the backstage holding a piece of paper with big red letters written on it: "Zelda is a cheery princess!"

Sakuno gulped and sighed a little. She blushed and runs happily towards the forest. She pointed somewhere and yelled, "Link! Hurry up! I don't want to miss the festival!"

Yukimura looked at her for a second and he realized that she's trying to be 'the cheery princess'. He walked towards her and followed her until they reached Hyrule town.

The background change and it turned into a town festival. Sakuno and the others were amazed by this technological simulation stuff, except Atobe who said that they made something better than that.

"Here we are, Link. The town of Hyrule! Let's look around!" Sakuno said happily, though forcefully. Every staff of the theater club, and some V.I.P gamers are there as extra, or as crowds.

While they were walking around, Sakuno went somewhere and Yukimura lost her in sight. He saw her coming in the backstage and talking to Sano. He assumed that she still needs to know what will happen next.

Suddenly, Momo approached him. "Welcome to the festival, young lad! Every hundred years, the Picori come to Hyrule and this is the hundredth year, to the day, of the last time the Picori were here! Isn't that great?" Momo grinned.

"Uhm… yes," Yukimura only let out a small laugh. Then, he spotted Sakuno talking to an old man. He figured that she finished talking to Sano and went to her.

"Link, there's a storyteller here! We should stop and listen to—Oh! I wonder what's over there!" Sakuno runs off again getting out of Yukimura's sight.

"P-Princess! D-Don't run too far away from me!" Yukimura tried to stop her but the storyteller spoke to him. He looked at the old man and he saw it was Ootori.

"Listen to my story, kid. Long, Long ago, and then even longer before that… evil creatures appeared in the world of humans. They were powerful, frightening beasts, and they created such trouble! But then, the Picori came from the sky, bringing humans powerful magic. With the magic light force and the Picori blade, the beasts were repelled. And the world of humans once more knew peace, thanks to the Picori. So as not to forget our gratitude, we hold this festival each year. Now remember, little one… the Picori only appear before good children. If you only do bad deeds, you will never get to see them! So be good!" Ootori smiled gently at him.

Yukimura nodded and was about to walk away when Ann came to him, "Did you know that the Picori give happiness to the people they meet?" Ann said randomly.

"I-Is that so? I better get going then…" Yukimura was once again about to leave only to be stopped by a guy leaning in a wall. He was Shiraishi.

"There is a sword-fighting tournament in this damn festival. Though it's already over. Do you know who won this year? Nope, not the blade brothers, but a mysterious guy wearing black clothing." Shiraishi acted coolly as he faced the audience, earning him some blushing girls from the audience.

Yukimura was surprised when Sakuno appeared from his back. "So the Picori are real, just like what my father said! Oh… look at that!" Sakuno runs again somewhere out of Link's sight.

Link sighed and followed her. He saw her playing in a lottery and won a prize.

--&PoT&--

Marui told every V.I.P gamer he saw that they should come to the theater club right now. When he was about to go back into the theater room, since he thought that he gathered enough players, he saw Tezuka coming in, too. He greeted him and Tezuka nodded in return. They went in and got themselves some seat, amazed by the simulation device, and silently watched the theater played by their. They saw Sakuno, as princess Zelda, playing in a lottery game and won a prize.

Meanwhile, Sherlock is sitting behind Tezuka and glaring at him. He eagerly wants to ask him their secret but his pride is too high. He sat back, relaxed, and decided to watch the play.

'_Soon… soon, Kunimitsu Tezuka… I'll find out your true relationship with Ryuzaki Sakuno…_' Sherlock thought.

Marui looked behind him and saw a person wearing Sherlock Holmes's costume. He looked confused for a while and he turned back to continue watching.

'_Is this person… a hobo?_' Marui thought to himself.

--&PoT&--

_BACKSTAGE_

"We heard that you need V.I.P gamers, Manager-san!" Tomo said as she catches her breath.

"We're here to help. Just tell us what to do!" Yuuta said.

"Just don't forget our score." Kisarazu Ryou added.

The other gamers nodded in agreement. Sano smiled a little and ordered his staff to give the newcomers their costumes and teach them their roles.

--&PoT&--

The person organizing the lottery was Shishido. "Congratulations, hime-sama. You won the grand prize. Choose one if these prizes. Heart-shapes stone, gem or this teeny-tiny ugly shield? Which one?" Shishido asked monotonously.

Sakuno looked at Sano for a second and saw him gesturing the shield. She chose the shield and gave it to Link. "I-It's suits you, Link." Sakuno said.

"Thank you." Yukimura smiled gently. Just then, Ryoma intentionally bumped the two of them. "Sorry." Ryoma glanced (glared) slightly at Yukimura and continued his walking.

"A-Ano, Yukimura-san…. E-eto! L-Link! I-I think we should go to the castle now…" Sakuno said and blushed.

"Uhm, okay then."

The background changes into castle garden with many colorful flowers. A knight was guarding it and talked to the two of them. "Ah! Princess Zelda! Wh—When did you leave the castle?!" the knight, Fuji said.

Yukimura and Sakuno were surprised that Fuji was there. Fuji just gave them his usual smile. "Oh, that's the sword for the award ceremony, isn't it? You should take that to Minister Potho. You'll find him at the entrance of the castle." he added.

Sakuno and Yukimura went in front of the castle. They saw Eiji standing there. "E-Eiji-senpai!" Sakuno suddenly said.

"No, I'm not Eiji-senpai! Who's this Eiji-senpai you speak of? Is he a foreigner? I know nothing of foreign countries. I only care about Hyrule and the people in it!" Eiji pouted and waved his arms everywhere.

"Minister Potho?" Yukimura asked.

"Yes. Though Potho is quite an ugly name, don't you agree? I wonder why they have named that character as Potho?! It's an ugly name!" Eiji said.

Fuji walked slowly to them, "Minister Potho, I think you should look at what Link's carrying".

"A sword? Oh yeah! As minister to the kingdom of Hyrule, I, Potho, accept this blade. You came just in time. The award ceremony will begin soon," Eiji said.

"I have to prepare for the award ceremony. Thanks for coming with me, Link-kun. I had a good time. See you later," Sakuno said and went in the castle.

"Since you're already here, why don't you join us for the award ceremony?" Fuji asked.

"I'd be happy to," Yukimura said.

A little while later, the knights (Fuji, Yuuta, Oishi and Kaidoh) brought out a huge treasure chest with a sword clinging on top of it. The knights put down the chest and waited for the winner to arrive.

"Do you know that the sword in there locks evil away in that chest?" Eiji asked.

"Uhm, no… Minister Potho, but I guess that's a pretty important blade, don't you think?" Link asked.

"Hush! The award ceremony is starting!" Potho whispered.

King Daltus, Shishido, suddenly spoke, "Let the award ceremony begin! Vaati, champion of the competition, you may approach the blade!"

Atobe came in dressed as Vaati, "To think things would go this well! The Picori blade and the bound chest spoken of Hylian lore… This chest must hold that which I seek! I'll relieve you of it's contents now."

Atobe attacked the knights using his magical powers/the simulation's special effects. "Haha! You dare to interfere with the great Atobe—eer… Vaati! Hah! No one will ever beat the great prince Vaati!"

At backstage, Sano panicked, "Vaati is not a prince! Why did Atobe said Vaati was a prince?! He also said his name instead of Vaati! What should we do?" Sano cried comically as he panicked around the backstage.

"I am the victor of the competition and I have the authority to approach the Picori blade!" Atobe used a higher form of his power and destroyed the Picori blade into half. The chest opened up and various monsters of different kinds flew out everywhere, anywhere in Hyrule. The monsters also made the knights, and King Daltus to fall unconscious (as what Sano ordered them to do). Luckily, Link used his shield and Sakuno used her 'magic' necklace to protect herself.

It's Sakuno's turn to speak, "Why are you doing this?" she asked concerned.

Atobe turned and faced Zelda. He smirked and said, "Ah! The princess who holds the power of light… that mysterious power is said to flow in the veins of every royal lady in your family ever since that day when it was gifted to your people. If I leave you now, you'll only cause me trouble. I shall now…" Atobe stopped and form black magic from his hands, "Take you with me!"

Yukimura ran to Sakuno and saved her from Atobe's black magic using his shield, but the magic was too powerful for Yukimura and it still went straight to Sakuno. Sakuno fell unconscious straight on the ground.

"Hehehe… I will never let anyone stand on my way! Now, I shall find out the power that awaits me in this chest," Atobe approached the chest and found it empty. His eyes widen, "What?! So you mean to tell me that the chest only holds those damn monsters?! Where the heck is that power I was looking for?! Hmmm… never mind… I know it's somewhere out there. I still have a lot of time. As for now," Atobe looked at the fainted Sakuno and took her. "The princess in a state of comatose shall now be with me!" Atobe magically disappeared.

_The curtains closed for a while and when it rose up, the background changed and only Yukimura and Tomoka are there_

Yukimura woke up from his pretend sleep and talked to Tomoka, who happened to be the maid.

"Oh, you're finally awake! Master Smith is here as well. He's come to see King Daltus," Tomo said.

"Oh, I see. I better got then," Yukimura walked to the door and went out. The background changes and Shishido was sitting in his seat, the knights are gathered and Atobe (as Master Smith) is there, too. The whole Hyrulian people are gathered, to be exact.

The king started his announcement. "My daughter, Zelda has been kidnapped thanks to that Vaati. We could save her by using the Picori blade and defeating that bastard, Vaati! But the problem is that bastard, Vaati, destroyed the blade! However, I shall not give up! Does any of you know anything about the Picori?"

"The Picori?" Atobe, Master Smith, asked.

"You mean those little imps from the fairy tales?" Eiji continued.

"Yes. But they are not legend. They truly exist. No one outside our family knows the truth about them. The Picori, who forged the sacred sword, lived deep in Minish woods. I'm sure they could repair this sword," Shishido showed them the destroyed sword from before.

Eiji panicked, "Then we should dispatch the soldiers at one!"

Shiraishi rolled his eyes, '_Seems like everyone is starting to take this play seriously…_'

"No, soldiers will not do," Yukimura finally spoke, "The Picori do not show themselves to anyone but youngsters. The soldiers will only get tired."

"Are you saying that you should go, dear son?" Atobe forcefully said the word 'dear son'.

"I'd be willing to, father, King Daltus and Minister. I will do anything to save Zelda.

Eiji giggled and said, "Since you've already recovered, then you should go there immediately, L-I-N-K".

Yukimura smiled at him. "I know it's dangerous since the monsters are freed. But please, allow me to, King Daltus," Yukimura said.

Minister Potho gave Link a map and marked an 'x' sign on the spot where the minish woods is.

"Please take the Picori blade with you," King Daltus ordered, "And make the Picori reforge it."

Atobe gave him another sword, "It's a sword I made. Use it to destroy the monsters hanging around Hyrule".

"Good. I'll send the soldiers to look for Vaati. Before you go Link, let me tell you this. Deep within the minish woods, there is a place called Deepwood shrine. Before, humans and Picori shared that shrine as a meeting place. I think it would be best of you start your searching there," Shishido walked closely to Yukimura, "I am counting on you, Link. Save my precious daughter!"

"Hai. I will save princess Zelda!" Yukimura's words.

--&PoT&--

_Back at Vaati's lair_

(Yes, Atobe changes his clothings, again.)

Sakuno slept peacefully in a really black bed. Atobe stares at her angelic face calmly.

"I wonder where is the force I'm looking for? The light force… the force that will destroy the world?" he asked Sakuno as if she'd answer.

Atobe's smirk never left his face.

* * *

Next time: The legend of Zelda play continues as Link travels to Minish woods and meets a special ally! Will he be able to save princess Zelda? And will Sherlock finally be able to withstand his pride? Will Sakuno-ahem- Zelda finally open her eyes? What's this light force Vaati speaks of? Find out in the next special chapters, featuring "The legend of Zelda arc", on "A day at Rikkai dai" only on FFN.

How was it? Good? Bad? Worse? Rather be friends with a crazy guy? Please leave a review!


	9. The Legend of Zelda Ezlo's appearance

A/N: Hey, it's me again! I'm updating sooner than ever before! Yay! Anyway… it looks like only a few liked the last chapter… that's too bad :( I hope I did better today, though…

Thanks to **rebeccasanfujieijilvr, sakura, xHitsuSaku, Charmane, songstress08** and **Mois** for reviewing!

DISCLAIMER: I do not own. (as simple as that, yeah.)

* * *

Chapter 9: The Legend of Zelda; Ezlo's appearance

"_Promises or lies?"_

"_Sometimes, it's better to break promises than to lie. Especially if it's for the better."_

These words kept on repeating Yukimura's mind as he traveled across north Hyrule, Lon Lon Ranch and eastern hills to get to the minish woods. Sano told him that they were supposed to follow the storyline, whatever it takes… even if sorcerer Vaati became prince Vaati and kidnapped Zelda instead of stoning her.

Yukimura sighed. Why does Atobe have to be a narcissist?

It was already dark when he reached minish woods, he continued his walking and following the map. He has to fight little monsters along the way. He fought some octoroks who spit rocks. They are small, some are red, some are blue, and circle and have a cute face… that's what I think anyway.

He walked and found a wooden bridge. It still looks strong so he crossed it carefully. He managed to cross without any problems, but the second he stepped on the ground, the bridge fell apart. Yukimura was left dumbfounded.

"I-I guess I have to look for another direction to go out of this woods…" Link let out a weak laugh.

As he walked in the woods deeper, fogs suddenly covered the whole area. He saw some chuchu and have to fight those green, slimy little monsters, too. A little while later, the fog cleared. Along the way, he saw a cut-down tree with a huge hole in it. He tried to fit himself in the hole, but he's too big. He only laughed in his own stupidity… and cursed Sano by telling him to fit himself there.

He continued walking but then, he heard someone asking for help.

"Help! Help me!" a mysterious guy was near the broken bridge Link crossed. He was being attacked by two octoroks and he can't save himself. "Won't somebody stop them?!" but the two octoroks kept on spitting rocks on him. "Can't anybody hear me? HELP!"

Link tried to look for the guy asking for help. When he found him, the mysterious guy looked at him. "Hey! Don't hide behind there! Help me, kid!" the guy yelled.

The octoroks spitted rocks on him again.

"HEY! Don't just stand there! Do something!" the guy angrily said. The octoroks spitted rocks for the umpteenth time. "What the hell's wrong with you?! Do you like watching me take this abuse?! Help me!"

"Okay, okay! Geez! Demanding?" Link used his shield to block the rocks and quickly attacked the octoroks as soon as they finished their utterly rude spitting. He defeated the monsters easily.

"Can't you even protect yourself against the weakest monsters in Hyrule?" Link said in a bragging tone.

"Of course I can protect myself! I was just distracted and… not that I can't handle them myself… they're just… That's beside the point! What in the world is a lone child doing so deep in the woods?" he asked.

"Y-You see… A guy named Vaati kidnapped Hyrule's princess. King Daltus said that I could save her using the Picori blade…" Link said in a sad tone.

"Vaati, you say? The Picori… you know, your king was right when he said that only children could see the Picori," the guy said, rubbing his chin.

Yukimura laughed in his thoughts… he is playing the role of a child… with his height.

"You know, you and I have a lot in common. I know Vaati and I'm also on a quest to defeat him."

"Why? What did he do to you?"

"He attacked my village and… and he's planning on destroying the world! My family died because of him… Anyway, you said that you could defeat Vaati using the Picori blade, the sacred blade, eh?"

"Well, yeah. But I have to reforge it of course. Vaati broke it, you see," Link said.

The guy smirked. "You found yourself an ally, kid! My name's Momoshi—I mean… Ezlo! The name's Ezlo! Nice to meet you!" Ezlo, who was played by Momo, shook Yukimura's hand.

"I-I'm Link. But… I don't need a companion. I can do this by myself. Sorry," Yukimura turned his back and left.

Momo looked at Yukimura's disappearing figure.

--&PoT&--

Vaati's Lair

Oshitari was leaning on a wall and was staring at Hyrule's princess. Atobe told him to take a look on her in case she woke up.

"Hn. Vaati put her in a comatose just a while ago. Does he really expect that she'd just wake up that easily? The baka," Oshitari said to himself.

Then, someone barged in. "Oh, it's you. What are you doing here… and why are you panting?"

The person who barged in was Ootori. He was panting hard. "I-I fell in a hole in this castle… I tried my best to climb up or ask for kelp but no one came. In the end… I climbed up a fifty-foot wall! It was hard! Why won't Vaati renovate this castle?"

"Stop complaining. He sent you here to take care of her too, didn't he?" Oshitari gave Ootori a seat to sit on.

"Yeah… but how could I? He's the one who did this to her…"

The person they were talking about entered the room. "Daltus sent someone to retrieve Zelda back. He's going to use the sacred blade, the Picori sword to defeat me," Atobe said.

"But didn't you destroy the blade?" Ootori asked.

"Yeah, but they were planning to reforge it. Damn," Atobe closed the door behind him.

--&PoT&--

Audience

Sherlock carefully watched Yukimura. He thought that Yukimura and the other V.I.P gamers are taking the play too seriously. Though they invent their lines, they can still do the play together. Talk about teamwork. The notebook he was holding suddenly fell. He picked it up and opened it in the last page. There was a doodle in it of a girl in two braids and a guy who was eating cake. After all this time, the notebook he was using was Marui's. He looked at Marui and Tezuka and realized something.

'_I forgot! I have to investigate!_'

Tezuka knows that the hobo Marui was talking about was Sanada. Sanada's trying to know his secret with Sakuno. '_You'll never find it out, Sanada,_' Tezuka thought.

Marui couldn't concentrate on watching because of the hobo behind them. Then, the hobo picked the notebook that the hobo dropped. He peeked behind him and saw the hobo holding _his_ literature notebook. He tried to protest but calmed himself down when he thought that the hobo might get crazy.

'_I drew a picture of Sakuno-chan and me there! And where did he get that notebook?_'

--&PoT&--

"_Promises or lies?"_

"_Sometimes, it's better to break promises than to lie. Especially if it's for the better."_

Link dreamed about Zelda in his sleep. This play is getting into reality, I must say.

"You know, Link… I promised my friend, Talon, that I would not tell anyone about her lie," Zelda said while holding a tulip.

"_What is her lie?" Link asked while watching the peaceful surroundings they were in._

"_Link! Didn't I say that I promised her not to tell anyone?"_

"_Well, yeah. But still… Sometimes, it's better to break promises if it would save her," Link picked another tulip._

"_What do you mean?"_

"_Because in the end, you'll just feel guilty about lying to everyone that Talon was right," Link looked at Zelda's eyes._

"_I-I see… Link… you promised that you'll protect me right?"_

_Link smiled, "Of course!"_

"_Then you're a liar." Suddenly, the beautiful flowers withered and darkness came._

"_What the? What's happening?"_

_Then Vaati came and took Zelda with him._

"_You! Stop it! Don't take her away!" Link used his sword and attacked Vaati._

_Vaati blocked his attack and he disappeared. Link was left unconscious on the ground._

"Link! Hey, Link! It's time to get up, little warrior!" Ezlo said. Yukimura was sleeping underneath a tree.

"S-Sakuno…?"

"What?! No! It's Ezlo!"

"Huh? I m-must have fallen asleep…"

"You're just tired! But it's morning! Come on! Let's look for the Deepwood shrine!"

"Sakuno… I mean Zelda… was taken away. I was too weak and defenseless. I couldn't save her from Atobe… I mean Vaati… Ato—Vaati is too powerful for me. I don't think I could save her…" Yukimura said.

"Don't say that! I'm sure you can defeat Vaati once you acquire the Picori blade in full! Didn't you say that you could save her using that sword?"

"The blade is powerful… but I'm not… And besides, Zelda is mad at me… because I broke my promise…" Yukimura's eyes were hidden in his bangs and some tears are falling down his face.

--&PoT&--

Sano sobbed. "Y-Yukimura-san i-is great! I never knew he was an actor! I was moved by his emotions and lines! He's a natural! The audience loves him!" Sano cried comically.

"I think that all of them are taking this play too seriously… Too seriously, Sano-san," Shiraishi said and smiled confusedly.

"Just let them be, Shiraishi! I have a plan!" Kin-chan grinned.

"You have a plan, you little devil?" Shiraishi looked at Kintarou.

"Uhuh!"

--&PoT&--

"You shouldn't worry about it. I believe she understands your situation. I know that wherever she is right now, she's definitely not mad at you," Momo was surprised at Yukimura's tears at first, but he encouraged him.

"Link, promises are meant to be broken someday. But that broken promise will lead you to another that's stronger than the first one," Momo surprisingly said.

"How can you be so sure?"

"Because Ann-chan… m-my s-sister… somewhere…a-also had the same situation! I was too weak to protect her and she was also taken by Vaati… I mean… she w-was… NEVER MIND! Just believe me!" Momo is in a panic mode.

Yukimura smiled a little. Momo can't invent his own line properly, can he? He must admit, he's taking this play seriously now. But… he was thinking that Atobe took his beloved girl that's why he kept on getting frustrated. He stood up and faced Ezlo.

"Thanks, Ezlo. I'm glad you encouraged me. I'm determined now! We'll save Zelda and Ann-chan from Vaati!"

"B-But Vaati didn't take Ann-chan! I take what I said back… hehe" Momo laughed a little.

'_Good thing you did, baka Momoshiro-kun!_' Ann thought.

"O-Okay then… let's find Vaati and defeat him together!"

"S-So does that mean you accept me as your ally?" Momo brightened up a little.

"Yes… Nice to meet you, Ezlo," Yukimura reached his hand to him for a handshake.

"I'm glad to be your acquaintance, Link," Momo shook Yukimura's hand.

"To the Deepwood shrine!" They both said and walked deeper into the minish woods. They both do not know what trouble lies beneath that woods.

* * *

Next time: Link and Ezlo became minish and entered the minish village! They met new characters there that will help them on their journey. The Picori there led them to the Deepwood shrine. The Deepwood shrine is dangerous place. It's Yukimura and Momo's first time fighting a huge monster! Sherlock is finally getting somewhere with his investigation, which made Tezuka annoyed. Find out what happens in the next chapter of "A day at Rikkaidai"!

A/N: There it is, the latest chapter! I hope it was good enough for a review from my readers… Now… I'm sleepy… I don't know why, it's only 8 p.m… I'll just lay on my bed and play some video games… Bye for now, and have a nice day/night!


	10. The Legend of Zelda The earth element

A/N: Ren's here again! With a new chapter of A day at Rikkaidai! Lately, I've been receiving few reviews and I'm thinking that only a few liked this Legend of Zelda play… but I have to move on! I have to finish what I have started! And I'll never give up! As long as our computer is still fine, as long as I have a lot of time and as long as I have readers, I'LL KEEP ON UPDATING! (Presidential speech?)

Thanks to: **xHitsuSaku**, **rebeccasanfujieijilvr**, **red-jello04**, **cherryblossomdemon93**, **songstress08**, **Charmane**, **SnowCharms**, and **nertz** for reviewing!

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN.

* * *

Chapter 10: The Legend of Zelda; The earth element

He gave Tezuka an intense look, which made Tezuka aggravated. After all, Tezuka can feel these kinds of things. Nevertheless, he still continued. Maybe annoying Tezuka to death could give him what he wants. He really is curious about his relationship with a girl named Ryuzaki Sakuno. He didn't mind the glances Marui gave him from time to time. He was just trying to figure out what Tezuka had in his mind. When Tezuka didn't budge, he sighed a little and opened his (Marui's) notebook and reviewed what he had written there.

_Sanada Genichirou's Gathered Information about Ryuzaki Sakuno: Special Edition_

_Ryuzaki joined the onigiri-making contest hosted by Echizen Ryoma's brother, Ryoga. _

_(A/N: This part written in a very messy handwriting) A bunch of guys suddenly barged in the door… I'm flat on the ground now and no one noticed… at least that's a good thing. (A/N: Written in a normal handwriting) It looks like the bunch of guys are Kirihara's men, from the karaoke room. I also caught the Tanaka brothers staring at me, but I just ignored it. _

_The contest ended and Katsuo Mizuno won… to be honest, Ryuzaki let him won. She's really nice…_

_I gathered this information from a certain comrade: Ryuzaki Sakuno, twelve years old. Her dominant arm is right. Born on January 14, her zodiac sign is Capricorn. She's in Seigaku class 1-1. She's 151 centimeter in height and she lives with her new family as of last month. She's good in cooking and has a great personality. She wants other people to be happy and is ready to give off her happiness for them._

_Yukimura seems to assume I'm Sanada, though I am but I'm still not telling anyone._

_I sat behind Marui and Tezuka whom I followed after I saw them entering the theater room. I decided to watch the play they're featuring._

_General Summary_

_Summer festival, Fireworks, Tulips, Pond, Temple, Fireflies, Ryuzaki and Tezuka… _

_Three months ago: Summer festival. One month ago: Ryuzaki stayed with her new family._

_Conclusions: __Tezuka's Sakuno's new family_

_Sakuno lived with her new family during the summer festival_

_Tezuka is Sakuno's boyfriend_

_Wait! I'm supposed to know why my teammates are in love with her! Why am I bothering to know her relationship with Tezuka?! Oh, well. Whatever I started, I must end it. And that's finding out her relationship with Tezuka!_

That is what was written in his notebook the whole time he followed her. '_I'm not getting anywhere…_' Sanada thought.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - The Prince Of Tennis - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Momo/Ezlo pointed at the tree with a hole in it, the one Yukimura/Link tried to fit himself in.

"Link, that's called the minish portal! Try to fit yourself in there," Momo said. There was some boots, mushrooms and small barrels near it. Talk about random.

"I tried, and I will never again!" Yukimura protested.

"Link! The world of minish and it's far too small for you! You can't meet them now!" Momo yelled.

"Minish?" Yukimura asked, confused.

Momo wore a toga and nerdy eyeglasses, "Ehem- allow me to explain, ignorant child. Minish are small fairy-like creatures that live harmoniously with each other. We, humans, called them Picori. They called themselves minish. That's why this woods is called 'Minish woods'. Anyway, deep in here, they built a village, which is tiny considering their size, where they now live," he pulled a blackboard somewhere and pointed at the words 'Minish' 'Picori' 'Minish woods' 'Tiny village' with a random stick and at the same time, drawn fairy-like creatures.

"I see…" Yukimura acted fascinated.

"So, if you want to enter, you have to minimize yourself first!"

"And you want me to fit myself in that hole, why?" Yukimura asked and pointed at the tree with a hole in it.

"It looks like an ordinary tree, right?" Momo asked.

"Because it is an ordinary tree…" Yukimura interrupted.

"No. It's a portal used by humans long ago to shrink themselves. With my help, you can use it to shrink down to minish size. Just stand near it and let me do the rest!" Momo exclaimed happily.

Yukimura did as what he was told. Then, Momo used his magic and in a blink of an eye, they became thumb-size.

"Peculiar…" Yukimura said.

"Let's go to the village now! It's somewhere in here!"

"Nice special effects, Sano-san…" Yukimura murmured.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - The Prince Of Tennis - - - - - - - - - - - - -

After a couple of minutes of walking, they heard a certain area filled with noise. Momo and Yukimura followed the noise and ended up in a small village, with boots, barrels and mushrooms as houses. A leaf fell down on their way and they were squished. A person wearing odd clothes asked for help from his companions and they all carried the 'giant' leaf together. Momo and Yukimura were still alive… good thing.

'_Too realistic, Sano-san…_' Momo thought as he grabbed his aching butt.

Yukimura and Momo looked at the throng of odd-looking life forms and stared at them for a while. Momo suddenly broke the awkward silence.

"Link, it appears that we have finally found the Minish village! And I thought those barrels, Boots and mushrooms were just random!" Momo forced a laugh.

"Yeah, talk about random," Yukimura replied but kept on staring at one of those odd-looking life forms, Kirihara.

The minish were wearing red, triangular hats and green long-sleeved shirts reaching their knees. They were bare-footed and gathered around the two foreign visitors.

"Pico! Welcome to our village!" One of them, Dan, said.

"Ripi pico, alien visitors, Pico Picori Ri!" Tomo excitedly said.

"Picoco pico ripico! We haven't had one of those for a while! Welcome, Pico Nyah!" Kikumaru cheerfully said.

"Yeah, welcome," Kirihara unwillingly said.

"It's been quite some time since we last saw a human," a familiar voice said.

The forest minish turned and saw Kamio, playing the role of Festari, the village's priest, walking calmly towards them.

"I'm on the rhythm!" Kamio further said.

"Hi…" Momo vehemently said. "And you are?"

"Festari, the village's priest. The one and only!" Kamio boated.

"Uhm… we want to reforge the Picori blade. May you assist us to someone?" Yukimura interrupted.

"I know nothing about the Picori blade. If you want some information, ask Gentari-san. He knows everything" Kamio answered.

"That's why he asked if you could assist him to someone, didn't you hear? We know that you know nothing about it, scratch that, you know nothing at all! Hah!" Momo teased.

"What did you say, Momoshiro! Take back what you said!" Kamio yelled.

"Yeah? You want me to repeat it again? You never knew anything but music!" Momo yelled back.

Yukimura interrupted for the second time, "Ahem- Can you lead us to where Gentari-sama is?"

Kamio looked at Yukimura first before he processed what he said. "Y-Yeah, of course. Follow me," Kamio walked while Momo and Yukimura followed him.

They walked for a few seconds before they arrived in a mushroom-like house. Kamio knocked, "Gentari-san, a visitor for you," he opened the door. "They're humans…" he added as he entered.

Momo and Yukimura entered the house and peeked at the room where they heard a voice.

"Come in, Festari. Today is a very fortunate day for me!" the voice said.

"Is that so?" Kamio forced a smile, "Let me introduce you. He's Link and that guy is Ezlo. They want to reforge the sword that they brought. Can you help them?"

"What sword?" the mysterious guy went out of the room and discovered that he was Tachibana Kippei.

"U-Uh… the Picori blade, Tachibana-san… err, Gentari-sama," Momo scratched the back of his head.

"The Picori blade, you say? We cannot reforge it, I'm afraid to tell you," Tachibana's face turned serious.

"W-What? Why not?" Yukimura asked, quite worried.

"Calm down. We cannot reforge it for you need to gather the four elements before doing so."

"Four elements?" Link echoed.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - The Prince Of Tennis - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Tezuka felt someone kick his chair. A vein popped on his head and after a while, it stopped. He was relieved for a while and concentrated on watching. A few minutes later, someone kicked his chair again. His glasses beamed and Tezuka reminded himself that he is not allowed to order 50 laps for someone who's not part of the team. He should just be patient and ignore Sanada's "silent persistence".

"Ne, Tezuka… the hobo is kicking your chair. Aren't you gonna do something about it?" Tezuka heard Marui whispered.

Tezuka kept silent and finally decided that he would face him the next time he kicked his chair.

_BHUMP_

"You got a problem here, hobo?" Tezuka turned and looked dangerously at Sherlock.

"Uncomfortable," Sherlock answered.

"Is that so?" Tezuka gave him deadly glares, and Sherlock gave them back. The next thing Marui knew, thunder strikes were between Tezuka and the hobo's eyes.

Marui was scared to death and was shaking. '_I'll be fine, I'll be fine…_' Marui kept on chanting. '_They're not going to kill each other, kill each other…'_

Finally, Marui gathered up courage to stop them, "Mou, stop it! Sa-chan won't be happy about it!"

Tezuka and Sanada both looked surprisingly at Marui. They calmed down and sat back.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - The Prince Of Tennis - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Tachibana marked an 'x' sign on Yukimura's map, "That's where the four elements are located".

"What are these four elements have to do with reforging the blade?" Yukimura asked while examining the map.

"They are the crystalline forms of the energies that fill our world. If you infuse these four elements with the blade, then a new blade can be forged."

"I see. Hm?" Yukimura and Ezlo saw an 'x' mark on Deepwood shrine.

"Uhm, Gentari-sama… is there an element hidden in Deepwood shrine?" Ezlo asked.

"Oh, yes! There's one in our shrine! The earth element!" Kamio interrupted.

Tachibana smiled, "Festari is the priest who's taking care of the shrine. He could lead you there".

"Yeah, follow me" Kamio gestured them to follow him.

"Wait. Before you go, I have to warn you that evil creatures have made their home in our shrine. Be careful and return to me at once after you have found the earth element," Tachibana added.

The foreign visitors shook their heads and followed Kamio to the Deepwood shrine.

"Here we are, the Deepwood shrine. Go north and you'll easily find it," Kamio said, "There are vile beasts in there so be careful!"

The two partners proceed to where Kamio pointed. A little walk to the north and they're there.

"So this is the Deepwood shrine… Let's go," Momo said.

Link followed Ezlo inside.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - The Prince Of Tennis - - - - - - - - - - - - -

"Ne, Tezuka…" Sherlock called.

"What do you want?" Tezuka simply replied.

"I'm going to be straightforward with you. What's your relationship with Ryuzaki Sakuno?" Sanada monotonously asked.

"My Kouhai," Tezuka's response.

A vein popped on Sanada's head. Marui wanted to be a survivor of this war.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - The Prince Of Tennis - - - - - - - - - - - - -

The Deepwood shrine is a huge place. It's dark but there are lanterns lit that serves as the light to their path. Random monsters fell from the ceiling and suddenly attacked them. Fortunately, Yukimura's always alert.

"Link… aren't we there yet?" Momo impatiently asked.

"Ezlo-san, they said that the earth element is in this shrine, they didn't tell us where exactly it is in this place," Yukimura answered.

Suddenly, they walked unto a huge door.

"What's that?" Momo asked pointing at the door.

"Looks like the boss's room," Yukimura smiled gently, which freaked Momo out.

"Why are smiling like that?! We're in the grand boss's room, yet you're still calm?!"

"Being calm is my offensive state, Momoshiro-kun," Yukimura faced the huge, metal door.

"Hey look, there's a gold thingy here…" Momo touched the gold thing he saw.

'_Gold thingy? It looks like a gold stone to me… What's a gold stone doing sticking in a metallic door?_' Yukimura thought.

Momo's touch accidentally broke the gold stone. Momo and Yukimura stared at the gold stone's pieces on the ground.

"AH! What are we going to do?! We broke it!" Momo panicked.

"No, you broke it," Yukimura smiled gently while looking at Momo running around the place.

Suddenly, the huge door opened slightly.

"T-T-The door's opening! He's mad 'cause I broke the gold-thingy in his door!" Momo paled.

Yukimura stared at the door as it slowly opened.

"I heard a broken treasure," an unfamiliar voice teasingly said.

"I-I didn't mean it! Don't kill me! We're just here to get the earth element, so if you please…" Momo forced a smile and he's too scared to continue his sentence.

The door finally opened up completely and it revealed a sweet-looking girl, Nanako Meino.

"Konnichiwa, Link-san, Ezlo-san. Nanako Meino desu. Nice to meet you," Nanako smiled and bowed politely.

"N-Nice to meet y-you to, Nanako-san…" Momo stuttered.

"Are you the boss here?" Yukimura asked.

"Hai. I'm the one who took over this place. May I ask a question?" Nanako kept her sweet smile.

"Uh, sure…"

"Who broke my golden stone?" Nanako still has her sweet smile.

Momo raised his hand, "M-Me… s-sorry….".

"It's alright. But you have to pay for it," Nanako's sweet smile stayed.

Yukimura felt something bad is going to happen. He also heard Ryoga shouting from the backstage, "Nanako-chan's going to kill you! She's a monster!" Ryoga yelled.

"H-How much?" Momo asked.

Nanako's eyes opened and a dark aura filled their area. Strong wind flowed and a huge red light followed after.

"With your life," Nanako flew! She turned into a monster, a huge green chuchu!

- - - - - - - - - - - - - The Prince Of Tennis - - - - - - - - - - - - -

"Nice acting, Nanako-san!" Sano praised, "Just let the special effects do the rest!"

"Thanks for having me here!" Nanako bowed.

"She didn't act back there," Ryoga whispered to Sano.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - The Prince Of Tennis - - - - - - - - - - - - -

"Look out!" Yukimura threw Momo out when the chuchu tried to squish Momo with his weight.

"A huge chuchu, I don't believe it!" Momo yelled.

"It's because we're small… that's why!" Yukimura dodged a slimy smack from the chuchu.

"Just stop talking to me and finish him already! You said you're in an offensive state now, didn't you?!" Momo covered his head from the falling ceiling.

Yukimura smiled again and chuckled a little. "Ne, Ezlo-san, you said you can use magic right?"

"Yeah, why?"

"I need your help. Suck in his huge tentacles so he'll go off balance," Yukimura said as he pointed at the chuchu's feet with his sword.

"T-Tentacles? Is that tentacles?"

"I guess… it looks like one. Now, do what I told you," Yukimura said as he run.

"S-Sure!"

Momo grabbed a random pot that's placed near the door and used his magic. He chanted some words then light flew out of the pot. He threw the pot to Yukimura's direction.

"Yukimura-san! Take that! It's called the Gust jar! It'll suck in some of the slimy-thingy in that monster's tentacles!" Momo yelled.

"Thanks," Yukimura caught the gust jar and pointed its mouth to the monster's direction, "How do I use it, Ezlo-san?"

"Oh yeah, I forgot! You can't use magic, can you? Throw it back to me!" Momo yelled.

Yukimura stiffened and threw the jar back to Ezlo. He's almost annoyed.

Momo pointed the jar's mouth to the chuchu's tentacles and used his magic to suck it in. After a few minutes of power release and drama, the chuchu lost its balance and fell on the ground. Yukimura suddenly jumped in front of the chuchu and sliced him into half. After that, the chuchu regenerates and got back to its original state.

"Our efforts were nothing!" Momo said.

"No… something's wrong…" Yukimura looked closely at the monster and his eyes widen, "Run, Ezlo-san! No, hide somewhere!"

"What? Wh-" Yukimura suddenly grabbed Ezlo and hid themselves behind a huge boulder.

The chuchu exploded. Momo was left dumbfounded.

"It exploded…"

"I guess it can only regenerate once…"

Yukimura saw something levitating. It's a purple stone.

"Link, look at that! It came from the monster's slimy body!" Ezlo saw it as well.

Yukimura grabbed it gently and it suddenly shone. They looked at it carefully and made a conclusion,

"It's the earth element," Momo smiled.

Nanako, the girl before was the earth element's embodiment. It transformed into a monster because of the anger overpowering the element's energy.

"So… the elements also have feelings?" Momo asked.

"I guess so… Come on, let's go back to Gentari-sama!" Yukimura said.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - The Prince Of Tennis - - - - - - - - - - - - -

"Anger overpowering the element's energy? I don't get it? Do you?" Marui asked his seatmates.

When he looked at them, they were releasing dark auras. Marui sweat dropped.

"I wonder where Sa-chan is? Why isn't she showing in this play?" Marui murmured.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - The Prince Of Tennis - - - - - - - - - - - - -

"Oh, I see. Well at least both of you are safe and unharmed," Tachibana, as Gentari, said.

"Thanks for your help," Momo and Yukimura bowed.

"You're welcome. Now, the fire element that you also need to acquire may have something to do with my friend, Melari. I think he could help you out. He's in Mount Crenel," Tachibana said as he observed the earth element.

"Mt. Crenel? The fire element is also located there, isn't it? We have to check it out, Link," Momo said.

"Sure." Yukimura said as Tachibana gave back the earth element.

"Good luck with you journey and take care. Come and visit us sometime, okay?" Kamio said.

"Pico Yeah! We're looking forward for you visit ripi pico riki Nyah!" Eiji said.

"Thanks! We will. Bye!" Momo and Yukimura both said in a different tone.

* * *

Next time: To Mt. Crenel they go! They met Melari and all of his disciples, the seven Mountain Picori! Sanada is annoying Tezuka to hell. Will Tezuka finally lose his temper and tell him his secret? Will Marui survive? And where's Sakuno and Atobe? What the heck is he doing to her? Find out in the next chapter of "A day at Rikkaidai".

A/N: Y'ello readers! Hope you liked this chapter and sorry if I didn't put Sakuno here… kinda forgotten 'bout her! But don't worry… the more the suspense, the better, right? BTW, the kicking of the chair, it happened to me. While we were watching a movie, someone (intentionally? i don't know) did that... on both of us! Anyway, leave a review please!


	11. The Legend of Zelda The fire element

A/N: SORRY! For not updating in months! I was not around FFN for a while! But since it's Christmas break, I have a lot of time… well not really, but I can still put in my fics in my schedule! I hope you guys will forgive me. I think you guys probably forgot what the story was about so I am really sorry! To the highest level, I'm sorry!

Thanks to: **SnowCharms****, ****xHitsuSaku****, ****Charmane****, ****rebeccasanfujieijilvr****, ****MyPrinceOishi08****, ****Arisato Aigis****, ****Dark-Valentine****, sakura and ****Seriin-chan **for reviewing!

DISCLAIMER: I do not own.

* * *

Chapter 11: The Legend of Zelda; Fire element

"So this is it… Mount Crenel…" Yukimura stared at the rocky mountains.

"Yep," Momo tediously said.

Yukimura looked at the person next to him in a questioning look. He knew this would happen. Momo only knows how to get to Mount Crenel but he doesn't know how to find Melari and his disciples. He didn't want to ask since he knows the answer, but he could give it a shot.

"So where do we find Melari?"

"Don't know…"

Came the expected answer from the world's greatest partner of all. Come to think of it… Momo's magic did save Yuki from the big chuchu before, so he shouldn't blame Momo for their mishaps.

(_"How are we supposed to get back to our normal size, Ezlo-san?" Yuki asked when they got out of minish woods._

"_We just need to redo the steps we did before!" Momo smirked and said, "I'll also use my magic to teleport us to Mount Crenel, what do you say?"_)

Ezlo also uses his magic to help Link once in a while so it's not all Ezlo's fault. Though sometimes he is quite annoying and helpless… don't forget ignorant.

(_"Thanks," Yukimura caught the gust jar and pointed its mouth to the monster's direction, "How do I use it, Ezlo-san?"_

"_Oh yeah, I forgot! You can't use magic, can you? Throw it back to me!" Momo yelled._)

Yukimura only let out a small smile. "I guess since Melari is a minish… we should look for a portal to shrink ourselves again, then find him or at least any of his disciples."

"You got it! I'll just make a portal then!" Momo used his magic on the gust jar and made a portal out of it.

- - - - - - - - - - - - The Prince Of Tennis - - - - - - - - - - - - -

"So Tezuka… is it true that you're Sakuno's boyfriend?"

"No."

"Brother?"

"No."

"Cousin?"

"No."

"Father?"

_TWITCH_

"You're just annoying him, fuku-buchou. Stop it already! He's not gonna tell, can't you see that?" Marui said.

"What do I have to lose? Besides, maybe annoying him to hell will make him tell!" Sanada said.

"Sanada, do you really want to know? Fine, I'll give you a clue," Tezuka suddenly said.

"REALLY?! WHO?" Marui is the one who's excited.

"You already guessed it. Which of those four you said was right?" Tezuka glanced at Sanada.

"You mean; Boyfriend, Brother, Cousin or Father?" Sanada asked.

"One of them is right," Tezuka replied. "But I won't tell which of the fou-"

"I'm thinking boyfriend." Sanada interrupted.

Marui stood up and glared at Tezuka. "How dare you?!" Marui gave Tezuka daggers.

"I won't say if it's right or wrong." Tezuka remained stoic.

- - - - - - - - - - - - The Prince Of Tennis - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Yukimura sighed. Looks like he has to be a minish for a while again. But he can't really complain. After all, he's doing this to save Sakuno from Atobe. He has no choice. Besides, blaming Momo for everything is bad, he didn't do anything on purpose after all. He'll just have to be patient for a while.

"Now, let's look for Melari!" Momo cheerfully said.

Yukimura nodded.

After an hour of walking, they've arrived at a cave. If you were in normal size, you would think it's only a hole made by a gun shot or something, but if you were a minish, it looks like a very deep, dark and dangerous cave wherein different monsters live. Yukimura and Momo decided to check what's inside the cave, just incase.

Upon entering, they heard a loud voice singing a rather annoying tune. They went in deeper and the voice sounded louder and louder until they found themselves in front of the singing guy. The guy/minish saw them but ignored them and continued singing his annoying song in a tone-deaf voice.

"Excuse me… are you one of Melari-san's disciple?" Yukimura politely asked, as always.

"La-la-la-laaaaa-lalala-la!" the minish replied.

"Dude! He's talking to you! At least answer his question!" a vein popped on Momo's head.

The minish turned around with a serious face.

"Are you talking to one of the seven most powerful here in Melari-sama's lair?" the minish, now recognized as Kaidoh, said in a rude voice.

"Oh, so that's why you're annoying! It's because you're Mamushi!" Momo grinned.

"What did you say, punk?" Kaidoh raised a fist on Momo's face.

Being the peacemaker that he is, Yukimura calmed the two rivals down.

Kaidoh sighed and hissed, "If you want to see Melari-sama, you have to take down all of his seven disciples!" Kaidoh thought that the two trespassed their territory to have a match with Melari.

"Sure, I'm taking you down right now!" Momo was about to punch Kaidoh when Yukimura stopped him.

"Calm down, tiger," Yukimura grabbed Kaidoh's fist, which was near Momo's face, and turned to him, "Mountain Picori-san, we're not here to fight any of the seven minish… let alone ask Melari-sama for a fight. We're just here to ask him a favor. Can you bring us there?"

"Let me answer your question, tiger… Melari-sama is a very… unique person… you can't just ask him for a favor that easily. In fact, knowing my master too well, I think he will ask for something in return. So, better bring something before going back here." Kaidoh replied.

Suddenly, six minish walked slowly towards them. They were wearing minish outfit, similar to Kaidoh's, which looked like they were from a tribe or something.

"Don't make it too hard for them, Kaidoh," Inui said, he's now a mountain Picori.

"Yeah, maybe Melari-san could give exceptions to them. I think they came from a faraway place! And look, one of them is a human!" Oishi said.

"Wow, a human! I haven't seen one since the last century! Or was it only a decade?" Kintarou lifted his index finger in his chin.

"Idiot, Millennium, Kin-chan… Millennium!" Atsushi looked at Kin-chan.

"Millennium? Wow, we're really getting old, don't you think, guys?" Kawamura looked worriedly at them.

"Old ages are better than golden ages… pmph!" Amane joked.

"I don't get it…" Kawamura sweat dropped.

So, the seven powerful disciples of Melari are Inui, Kaidoh, Kawamura, Kintarou, Atsushi, Amane and Oishi. The seven mountain Picori are quite close with each other, like family. One who stays with them will like it. Their auras are pure and serene… yet somehow… their relationship with each other is kind of… unique, just like what Kaidoh said about Melari's personality.

"What kind of person is Melari-sama anyway?" Momo suddenly asked.

The seven minish looked at Momo then their facial expressions change. No one dared to answer so they changed the topic.

"F-Forget about what Kaidoh said before. We'll introduce you to Melari-sama right away," Oishi showed them the way and the two followed, so did the other Picori.

After minutes of walking, they've arrived at a huge door. Inside of it is Melari, the minish that Yukimura and Momo wanted to meet since the beginning of this chapter.

"M-Melari-sama, someone wants to meet you… it's a human and… uhm… someone, I don't know… something?" Atsushi knocked and said.

"I'm a-" Momo was cut off when the door opened.

The light was too bright for the two visitors. They both covered their eyes since the light from inside the room is too bright. When the light slowly faded off, and their visions adjusted to their surroundings, they saw someone whose smile makes him look like he knows everything in this world.

- - - - - - - - - - - - The Prince Of Tennis - - - - - - - - - - - - -

_VAATI'S LAIR_

"So they've arrived at Mount Crenel, eh? Let's see if you'll survive that guy's attitude…" Atobe was watching Yukimura and Momo from his big screen inside his room.

"I wonder… if you're awake… what will you say to them, Zelda?" Atobe looked at Sakuno in her sleeping position. Atobe stood up and sat on Sakuno's bed. He touched her soft hair and caressed it smoothly. He leaned to her and as he did, someone grabbed his shoulders.

"Vaati, if you're in love with the princess then better forget all about it! Love will only be an obstacle to the fulfillment of our goal! Love can be your weakness, did you know that, Atobe?!" Oshitari said.

Ootori clapped in a chibi mode behind him, praising Oshitari's speech, and thankful for preventing Atobe from kissing Sakuno.

At this, Atobe smirked. He stood straight and confronted Oshitari, "Love is powerful and can be both strength and weakness. Strength-- because it will drive you into a more powerful state just to protect the person you care for. Weakness-- because it can be a source of threat from an enemy. Oshitari, my dear slave, I am the most powerful Atobe Keigo and I can assure you that my love for my princess will never be a threat from an enemy nor drive me down."

Oshitari gave his captain the best death glare he could possibly give anyone. "We'll see about that, Atobe."

"Sorry to break the thunder here… but… what is our goal exactly? I'm sure it's not just to take over the world…" Ootori interrupted as soon as he saw in Atobe and Oshitari's eyes their desire to kill each other.

"I'm glad you asked that, Ootori. Atob—I mean Vaati's real goal is—" Oshitari was cut off by Atobe.

"My real goal is none of your business, kid." Atobe looked at Sakuno and saw her fingers moving. Slowly, the maiden's eyes opened.

Atobe's eyes widen.

- - - - - - - - - - - - The Prince Of Tennis - - - - - - - - - - - - -

"HELLO FOLKS!" Melari greeted.

"S-Sengoku-san… is that you?" Momo looked closely at Melari's face.

The seven disciples were disgusted. They have to accept the fact that this perverted guy is their master, much to Sengoku's dismay.

"He's not only perverted, but childish as well," Inui started.

"Sometimes, he plays around all of our stuffs and draw things on them," Kawamura continued.

"He is sometimes stoic and stiff," Kin-chan said.

"You won't know if he's serious or not," Amane added.

"Sometimes, he acts too supreme over us that it drives us all crazy," Atsushi rolled his eyes.

"He's too lazy to do any work here!" Kaidoh hissed.

"He changes his personality in a split second if he wants to!" Oishi said in a worried face.

"You guys are rude!" Sengoku said.

"He's in a childish mode," Amane whispered to Momo.

"Say at least something nice to me, as your master!" Sengoku added.

The seven minish thought for a while before they came up with this, "You're more beautiful than a banana!" They all said in unison.

Yukimura and Momo sweat dropped.

"BANANA? What's that supposed to mean!" Sengoku started chasing his disciples with steam coming out form his ears and a vein popped on his head. The eight of them run around the whole area in a chibi mode.

"I thought of a compliment! You're as skilled as a playboy at least that's kind of true…" Momo suddenly joined in.

Sengoku turned to him in a serious face.

"Oops… looks like he turned into the 'supreme' mode," Kawamura whispered to Momo.

"Ezlo… 10 laps around the cave!" Sengoku imitated Tezuka's tone.

"What? You're not the boss of me!" Momo protested.

The commotion continued for a while until Yukimura finally broke it.

"Excuse me, but we're in a hurry. If you could just tell us where the fire element is, we can go."

"What do you need the element for?"

"To reforge the sacred blade."

"I see. Well, since I'm great, I can reforge it without the help of any of the elements."

"Really?"

"Yes, but it's not as powerful as it originally is, though. But you can increase the sword's strength of you add the element's power unto it."

"Well, okay then. At least you don't have to use your grandfather's sword. Besides, you can use its power though not fully yet," Momo said to Yukimura.

"S-Sure. Please take care of it," Yuki handed the sacred blade to Sengoku and bowed.

But Sengoku didn't take it.

"There is a price, you know" Sengoku said with a sly smirk.

Melari is the great leader of the seven mountain Picori, no… He's the leader of the entire mountain Picori clan. He believes that he has his reputation of not being soft and gentle. His forefathers are strict and tricky. They don't just give charity to minish, let alone _humans_. He won't make it easy for them. He is the supreme leader of…

"What about a picture of a naked lady?" Momo interrupted.

Melari is the great pervert of the seven mountain Picori, no… he's the most perverted one in the entire mountain Picori clan. He has his reputation of being perverted and well… perverted.

"OKAY!" Melari rejoiced, his shout almost deafened Momo, "I'll reforge it! Just give it!"

Yukimura and Momo sweat dropped as they looked confusedly at Sengoku, who's bouncing in the whole stage. The seven mountain Picori are now blushing because of embarrassment.

"Ezlo, Link… if you're looking for the fire element, then go northwest from here. There you'll see the cave of flames. I heard that the fire element has changed its shape and turned into a dragon. Why don't you guys check it out? After you defeated the monster, come back here and the blade has already been reforged," Melari winked at them, obviously happy.

The two nodded.

And now, Melari began reforging the sacred blade with the help of his assistants.

- - - - - - - - - - - - The Prince Of Tennis - - - - - - - - - - - - -

The partners entered the 'cave of flames' like what Melari told them to do. Even though it's a deep cave, it's not dark because there are floating flames around. As the two kept going, the flames' colors change. From orange to red, to pink, to green… and lastly, black. Only Yukimura noticed the changes on the flames' color.

"Usually, in a cartoon or an animè, the black fire represents the boss's evil power," Yukimura said out of the blue. Momo could only let out a small 'huh?'.

"And as the fire darkens, the boss is getting nearer and nearer."

"What are you talking about?" Momo asked.

"I can feel the presence of an evil creature… crawling its way up here… slowly approaching us," Yukimura said in a scaring tone.

Momo paled, and smiled nervously, "I don't get what you're saying… Link-kun."

"It's here," Yukimura looked at Momo seriously.

Momo stood still for a few seconds until the ground suddenly shook. The rocks fell on Yukimura and Momo but they dodged it quickly. Slowly, a monster came from the underground and revealed its dragon form. To be exact, a turtle-dragon form. Like an American dragon (Jake Long) with a shell on his back.

"YOU'RE KIDDING ME!" Momo yelled and run for his life.

As Momo was running, the ground suddenly 'crushed' and lava drifted unto it. The lava stopped Momo from running but it left Momo some burn marks.

"Got any plans, Link?" Momo asked.

Yukimura smiled gently _again_ and turned to face the monster. "He's the fire element, fire."

"I-I get it!" a state of realization hit Momo, but, "A-Actually… I don't… What are you talking about?"

"I need water, Ezlo. Use your magic."

Ezlo cast his spell on Link's sword, "Uhm… water comes out of there… Your sword, I mean…" Ezlo said.

"Thanks! But I need you to do me a favor… can you get rid of his shell?"

"The one that looks like a turtle house? Okay!" Ezlo jumped high and revealed a giant hammer from his back (yep, from his back) and smacked it on the monster's shell. As it met the shell, thunder came out from it and a huge earthquake took place. This enormous power from Ezlo's magic hammer destroyed the shell.

"You turn, Link!"

"'Kay!" From Ezlo's figure, Link came out from Ezlo's back (yep, from his back) and gathered energy to use his water sword against the dragon. The dragon dodges it and hit Link with his tail. Link couldn't dodge it and he fell on the ground. He couldn't move at first, but as the dragon was about to hit him again, Ezlo run and saved him with his energy shield.

"Hurry up! Use your sword!"

Link stood up and used his water-sword to slice the monster in half, which was incredibly effective. The monster evaporated and another stone, this time red, levitates.

Link grabbed it gently and turned to Ezlo with a gentle smile.

- - - - - - - - - - - - The Prince Of Tennis - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Link and Ezlo came back to where Melari was, and they were both surprised that Melari did indeed finished reforging the sword. Link took it and felt the overwhelming power it has. And it has no elements yet. Which reminded Link,

"Oh yeah, how am I going to put the elements' powers here?" Link asked Ezlo.

"That is where we are going next!" Ezlo said.

"The sanctuary, right?" Melari suddenly interrupted.

"Right!" Momo grinned.

- - - - - - - - - - - - The Prince Of Tennis - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Even though Sakuno is now awake, her eyes are different… they're… blank.

"I-Is she blind?" Ootori asked.

"Her soul's out," Atobe said.

"W-What do you mean?" Oshitari looked nervously at Atobe.

Atobe turned his head to face Oshitari with serious eyes, "She's dead."

Technically… she's sleeping with her eyes open. And now, she's really awake!

"W-What? Where am I?" Sakuno said and placed her right hand on her head, "My head hurts…"

"I'm glad you're awake," Atobe smiled charmingly at her.

"You said she was dead!" Oshitari yelled at Atobe in a chibi mode.

"W-Who are you?" Then Sakuno was in shock, "W-Who am I?"

Amnesia.

* * *

A/N: That concludes this chapter. I hope it's hilarious enough to cover my absence for months! Thanks for the reviews and I hope that you'll continue on reading this fic! Merry Christmas to all! Oh yeah, I've been addicted to code geass for a while… I recommend that animè to you guys out there! It's quite good. Anyway, please leave a review. I think the play will end in another tow chapters or so… not quite sure.

Next time(the fave last part of everyone): Now, with the sacred blade reforge, Yukimura only has to collect the last two elements, the water and wind element! Looks like he'll hit two birds with one stone next time, and Sakuno… looks like she has a very important part as Zelda. Find out what happens next in the next chapter of "A day at Rikkaidai".


	12. The Legend of Zelda Link's Achievements

A/N: First off… sorry, and I mean really SORRY for not updating for… two years (1 year, 4 months). What happened in the past year you may ask? My computer broke during the time I was supposed to update so I was not around for two months. I was not around, plus I was preparing for college entrance exams. Now, I'm a first year fine arts student (turning into a sophomore on June) and was TOTALLY busy with my plates (artworks) and other college stuffs. Now, I know all of the readers forgot about what happen and what this story is about (believe it or not, even me!) so… my bad, sorry.

Anyway! I went to ozine last Saturday. It was so fun! Many cosplayers and such. It was my second time to attend an anime convention. It was better than my first one, and that's a fact. I'm sure some of you guys were there that time, too, and I'm also sure that we've bumped each that day (though we don't know each other).

Special thanks to: **rebeccasanfujieijilvr**, **Fandom Whore**, **silverdoe02**, **Arisato Aigis**, **SnowCharms**, **Vannie.2010.**, **Seriin-chan**, **Charmane**, **m o o g l e d a i m e**, **theon-chan**, **Kilei**, **Clarissejoy**, **mai sakura**, **iKiohri**, and **jadeismycolor** for reviewing the last chapters!

DISCLAIMER: I do not own.

* * *

- - - - - - - - - - - - The Prince Of Tennis - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Last time: The play continues as Link (Yukimura) and Ezlo (Momo) went to Mount Crenel to achieve the fire element. They defeated the monster that guards the element and the sacred blade was successfully reforged by Melari (Sengoku). Now, they have to find the elemental sanctuary so that they can infuse the earth and fire element into Yukimura's sword. Also, Princess Zelda (Sakuno) has woken up with amnesia, which surprises Vaati (Atobe) and his followers, Ootori and Oshitari. Meanwhile, Sanada and Marui finally got a clue on who Sakuno is to Tezuka, but they have to figure out whether she his sister, girlfriend, cousin or daughter.

Chapter 12: The Legend of Zelda; Link's achievements.

The two partners ended up in Hyrule town right after leaving Melari's lair. Ezlo (Momo) told Link (Yukimura) that the sanctuary is hidden somewhere in Hyrule town. Yuki asked several people about the existence of the elemental sanctuary. Unfortunately for them, no one knows anything about it. Since Yuki asked the villagers of Hyrule, some of the villagers told the guards of Hyrule castle about the return of Yuki to their town. The guards then told the king about Yuki's return. King Daltus (Shishido) ordered the guards to bring Yuki to the castle, because he was expecting that he finally have saved his daughter, princess Zelda (Sakuno).

Yukimura and Momo took a break from their search and went into a bakeshop to eat. The bakeshop's name is 'Wheaton and Pita', and the husband and wife partner, Wheaton and Pita, which was role-played by Kawamura and Nanako, owns it. Wheaton (Kawamura) asked Yuki and Momo about their great adventures of finding princess Zelda. Pita (Nanako) said, "I'm so happy that you guys finally found Princess Zelda! I'm sure King Daltus will be proud!"

Yuki and Momo looked at each other then told Kawamura, "We haven't found Zelda yet."

Then suddenly, the door of the bakeshop opened and the guards came rushing in. They grabbed Yuki and Momo's arm and took them away from the place.

Kawamura and Nanako were surprised and they both yelled, "They haven't found princess Zelda yet!"

The guards dragged Yuki and Momo to Hyrule castle and lead them to King Daltus.

- - - - - - - - - - - - The Prince Of Tennis - - - - - - - - - - - - -

VAATI'S LAIR

"So, Hyrule's princess has lost her memories… What do we do now?" Ootori asked Oshitari.

Vaati (Atobe) stood up and said, "The two troublemakers are in Hyrule Castle. They're about to fuse the sacred blade with the fire and earth element. I better pay them a visit."

Then, Atobe suddenly teleported out from his lair.

"He's running away." Oshitari said.

Sakuno looked at Sano at the backstage. Sano was panicking about the sudden changes in the storyline.

"Princess Zelda lost her memories?! That's not part of the story! Why are they improvising!?" Sano yelled at the staff at the backstage.

Sakuno could only plead for forgiveness.

- - - - - - - - - - - - The Prince Of Tennis - - - - - - - - - - - - -

"You're Sa-chan's boyfriend? Who the hell are you kidding? Do you actually think that I'll believe your stupid lies? Sa-chan is my wife and she likes me. How on earth do you expect me to believe that she would actually bother to look at you? ANSWER ME!" Marui said in a scary tone.

Tezuka remained silent.

A vein popped on Marui's head. "Why don't you just answer!? Darn you!"

"Calm down, Marui," Sanada turned to Tezuka, "Is your relationship with her that important to keep it a secret from everyone?"

"I'm doing this to protect her. After all, she's my-" Tezuka suddenly stopped speaking.

"WHAT? WHAT? She's your what? Continue!" Marui said.

"My kouhai." Tezuka continued.

"I know that! But what's your other relationship? YOU'RE DRIVING ME CRAZY! JUST TELL US!" Marui yelled.

Tezuka smirked. He's definitely just having fun with these two around.

- - - - - - - - - - - - The Prince Of Tennis - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Shishido (King Daltus) greeted them warmly. "I'm so happy that you finally saved my daughter from Vaati! And you didn't even need the Picori blade to destroy him! So… where's my daughter?"

Yuki and Momo sweat dropped. They find it hard to tell the king the truth. Yuki was the one who gathered his courage to tell the King the bitter truth, "S-Sire… we still haven't found the princess yet. We're here to look for the elemental sanctuary to fuse the elements to the sacred blade."

King Daltus twitched.

"T-That's right. The Picori blade will only show its true strength if it's fused with the four elements!" Momo said.

Momo suddenly felt a strange aura at the back of the castle's window.

While King Daltus was scolding the guards about the gossips about Yuki saving Sakuno, Momo stared out the window. He only kept staring and saw a garden filled with roses there. While staring at the roses, he saw a quick shade of light coming out from the back of the roses.

Momo suddenly yelled, "Link! I know where the elemental sanctuary is! Follow me!" He quickly ran out of the castle, and Yuki followed him.

Before Yuki was about to go out of the castle, King Daltus suddenly asked him, "Who's that guy you're with, anyway?"

"He's my partner, Ezlo. He's a magician… I think. Sorry for the trouble! Excuse us." Yuki answered then quickly followed Ezlo out.

Momo lead Yuki to a garden filled with roses, just at the back of the castle. Momo removed some of the roses and found a hidden door, just behind the roses. The door was huge and almost insubstantial with gold lightings around it. Momo grinned and bragged, "HAH! There, I found it! I am so great! This door leads to the elemental sanctuary!"

"The elemental sanctuary, huh?" Yuki repeated.

"This is where we can infuse your blade with the power of the elements! You can save Sakuno in no time!" Momo said.

"Sakuno?" Yuki asked with a sly smile.

"I-I mean Zelda! Sorry 'bout that!" Momo apologized.

Yuki and Momo went inside and they saw huge glowing crystals that lead to another door. The two followed the crystals and ended up in another huge door. They opened the door and saw a pedestal for the sword. Around the pedestal were stones with carved shapes of the four elements.

Yuki went to the pedestal and he tried to fit the sword on it. It did fit. Suddenly, the earth and fire elements hidden in Momo's pocket glowed then it both levitated to the carved stones. The sword's color changed from white to purple and finally, to red.

The powers of the earth and fire elements have finally infused Yuki's blade.

Yuki walked out of the sanctuary and said, "Hurry! We have to save the princess from Vaati! We have a lot to do!"

"Don't rush this Link!" Momo said.

"Where are we going next?" Yuki eagerly asked.

Momo sighed and followed Yuki out, "The temple of droplets. The water element is there. That was what Melari said before we left the mountains."

Yuki and Momo bid goodbye to the King and went to northern Hyrule land. They were both surprised when a person with dark aura greeted them. It was Vaati.

"Thank you for fusing the elements in that stupid sword of yours, Link." Vaati (Atobe) said.

"VAATI!" Yuki yelled.

"Why don't we try your new power?" Vaati summoned monsters from nowhere and let Yuki and Momo fight the monsters.

Yuki prepared his sword for the monsters, "What? Too gutless to fight us for yourself?"

Atobe made an evil laugh… "I have other things to do. I'm not really here to fight both of you. And besides, it'll be just a waste of time for me to fight you." Then, he left.

Yuki and Momo were left to fight the monsters. Yuki used his sword and quickly finished the two monsters by himself. Momo could only stare in surprise.

"Such huge amount of power… to defeat those two monsters in a flash… With this, we could actually defeat Vaati and save Zelda!" Yuki said happily to Momo.

"Link… let me tell you something… The Picori gave humans the Picori blade as a gift, right? It was from the legend. You see… there's another gift that they gave, but no one knows about it but Vaati and me. The second gift, we call it the light force. It is a source of limitless magical power. Vaati wants it and if he were to get it now, it would be devastating. I actually came here to stop Vaati and then, I met you in the woods. We must stop Vaati before he finds the light force. Then we could save Zelda." Momo said with a serious face.

Yuki giggled, "I never knew you could be that serious! Nice acting!"

Momo blushed in embarrassment, "S-Shut up!"

"Anyway, we must now go to the temple of droplets to find the next element, right? Where is it?"

"Heh! I am happy to tell you that this time, I know where the water element is! To Lake Hylia we go!" Momo shouted.

Momo and Yuki began their journey again to find the next element. They went to different places to get there. When they were on a stop for a break, the two suddenly had a strange feeling. They both felt that something bad would happen.

- - - - - - - - - - - - The Prince Of Tennis - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Back in Hyrule castle, King Daltus was busy doing his usual work when a sudden earthquake hit the place. The guards began panicking and King Daltus could only kneel down to his place. Suddenly, Vaati appeared in front of him as soon as the earthquake stopped.

"I-It's you! The one who took away my daughter!" Shishido pointed a finger in Atobe.

"Yeah, well, I just followed the plot." Atobe smirked.

Shishido sweat dropped and whispered, "What the hell are you saying!? You're supposed to-"

Atobe transformed himself to King Daltus. He used his dark magic to imitate King Daltus face. The king could only stare in surprise.

Suddenly, Atobe stabbed Shishido with his toy sword and sat in his throne, "From now on, I will be the new King, well… I always am".

He ordered minister Potho to gather all of the kingdom's guards. The minister was confuse at first but he decided to follow the king's orders, still wondering what he is up to.

"Everyone, listen up! I am looking for the light force which is rumored to be hiding here in this kingdom. I command all of you to look for it, now!" Atobe yelled.

The guards look at each other, "Didn't you hear me!? I said look for the light force, NOW!" Atobe yelled louder.

The guards suddenly dashed off and began looking for the light force they don't even know.

Then, Atobe let out his evil laugh.

- - - - - - - - - - - - The Prince Of Tennis - - - - - - - - - - - - -

"We're here! This is Lake Hylia, and in the middle of this lake is the temple of droplets, the temple made of ice!" Momo conceitedly said.

Yuki smiled charmingly in return.

Both Yukimura and Momoshiro went inside and saw the temple is indeed made of ice. From the walls to the floors, every step is getting colder and colder. They both saw a huge door as they were walking deeper and deeper. They opened the door and went inside only to find out that the element is trapped inside the frozen ice. Fortunately for them, the fire element is already infused in Yukimura's sword and so he used it to transform his sword's blade into ravaging flame. He sliced the huge block of ice and it melted easily. The water element levitates and was about to fall into Yukimura's hand until it was blown away by a powerful wind and fell into someone's hand.

The person who took the water element away from Yukimura is none other than Echizen Ryoma, "Heh. You're still mada mada dane."

Yukimura looked at him seriously at first but then he suddenly smiled, "Echizen-san, I thought you were a carpenter in this play. What is with the sudden change of events?"

Ryoma gave him a murderous glare.

Yukimura smiled charmingly yet again on the prince.

Momo sat in a corner murmuring something.

Everyone on the audience was excited on how the play will turn out.

- - - - - - - - - - - - The Prince Of Tennis - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Back in Tezuka's seat…

"Wow, Echizen suddenly appeared as an important character, at last. I wonder who's going to win their fight?" Marui said as he put his arms around the seat in front of him.

"I'm sure buchou will win." Sanada said.

"He may win in this play, but he'll never win Sakuno." Tezuka commented.

Sanada and Marui stared at him with deadly glares.

"Interesting…" Sanada suddenly said.

Marui looked at him confusedly.

"How childish, Tezuka. You purposely annoy us with your constant babbling on who Ryuzaki really is to you, when in fact, you do not have any relationship with her at all. You're just bluffing and-" Sanada was cut off when Yukimura suddenly screamed in pain.

- - - - - - - - - - - - The Prince Of Tennis - - - - - - - - - - - - -

"Hn." Ryoma smirked when he saw Yukimura dropped in the floor screaming in pain.

"A-Anou… everyone looks like they're doing this play seriously, don't you think so, Sano-san?" Sakuno said while pouring hot tea on Sano's cup.

"Well, if the actors believe it's real, then so will the audience… _although they are REALLY doing this TOO SERIOUSLY." _Sano replied.

"But this is way out of the storyline, am I right?" Nanako suddenly said.

"Yeah… well, I already have given up on the storyline anyway. They won't follow it even if I scold them." Sano answered.

"You just can't scold them because you're afraid of them, right?" Nanako said.

Sano could only sigh in defeat.

"Who… a-are you… i-in this story anyway?" Yukimura asked in between breath.

Ryoma bounces the water element in his hand as if it was a tennis ball, "I'm the boss in this temple of whatever. And if you lose, I'll be replacing you as Link, Zelda's real savior.

Yukimura smirked, "I see where this is going," he stood up while still gasping for breath, "You just wanted to be Sakuno-san's lover in this play…"

Ryoma accidentally dropped the water element in the ground and blushed.

"Momo, I mean, Ezlo-san! Take the water element immediately!" Yukimura pointed to where Momo is.

Momoshiro is still giggling from what happened to Ryoma but quickly caught up in Yukimura's actions ,"I WILL TAKE THE WATER ELEMENT SO THAT ECHIZEN WON'T WIN!" Momo yelled comically and ran in an unusual manner.

"HERE I GO!" Momo purposely ran in slow motion and took the water element with a little drama.

When the water element reached Momo's hand, Ryoma crushed his hand by stepping on it, powerfully.

Momo eyes widen and cried in pain, while holding his swelling hand. Ryoma smirked, "Mada mada dane, Momo-senpai." But his smirked turned into shock when he saw the water element slowly cracking.

The water element broke into a hundred pieces.

Yukimura and the whole audience stared in surprise.

"Y-You broke the water element!" Sano yelled while running inside the stage and held Ryoma by his collar.

Ryoma looked at him blankly, and ran away.

"W-Wait! Come back! What will happen to the show now!?" Sano yelled through the top of his voice.

As he was yelling, somebody threw a round blue orb in his face, "Use that," the thrower said and ran away.

"W-What?" Sano looked at the person who gave him the blue orb but he was already on his way out of the theater. He gave the blue orb to Yukimura and ordered the play to proceed.

Everybody sweat dropped.

- - - - - - - - - - - - The Prince Of Tennis - - - - - - - - - - - - -

"Whoa! This play is really disastrous! And almost all of the characters here are men! Only Sa-chan can enlighten this stupid play." Marui said as he rested his back on his seat.

Tezuka looked at him through the corner of his eyes.

"I agree." Tezuka said.

- - - - - - - - - - - - The Prince Of Tennis - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Oshitari and Ootori went inside Hyrule castle with Sakuno. The two men already know that Atobe took over King Daltus's throne to find out where the light force is.

Sakuno is wearing a gothic Lolita outfit (which made almost everyone blushed) and she was gently assisted by a blushing Ootori.

"Lord Vaati," Sakuno called his name.

Atobe turned to face them and approached Sakuno. He held her chin and moved it upwards for a kiss, until Ootori stopped it. "S-S-S-STOP IT! What do you think you're doing!?"

Atobe smirked. "Ore-sama just wanted to greet my princess."

Oshitari sighed.

"Anyway, you look really good in your dress. We look so good together." Atobe commented.

Sakuno tried to hide her blush, "U-Uhm… L-Lord Vaati… w-when will you bring back my m-memories?"

"I'll bring it back if you become my slave for the _whole day._" Atobe seductively said.

Sakuno's face turned as red as a tomato.

Atobe leaned closer to her and breathe gently on her ear, which made Sakuno shivered.

Ootori pulled Sakuno away from Atobe and surprisingly glared at Atobe.

"Don't do such things to her, you pervert!"

"Anyway, Atobe- I mean Vaati- did not take you memories away, you just lost it unknowingly. So you don't have to be Vaati slave or something." Oshitari added.

Sakuno couldn't think of anything to say. She just wanted to go home at that time.

- - - - - - - - - - - - The Prince Of Tennis - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Yukimura held out the new water element and smiled as it shines brightly in his hand.

"Water quenches thirst, ends drought and nourishes life. The water element is the embodiment of that power." Momo said.

"Now we only have to find the last element, the wind element. This play is going to end soon." Yukimura smiled. "Anyway, Ezlo-san, where is our next stop?"

Momo laughed manically as he answered Yuki's question, "Of course, just like before, I know where we can find the wind element! It's in the palace of winds, guarded by an evil monster named, Gyorg. He stole it from the wind tribe who originally takes care of the element."

"Hmm… I see. So we just have to defeat Gyorg and fuse the water and wind elements into my blade and defeat Vaati to save Sakuno. We have to hurry now!" Yuki said and dashed away with Momo behind him.

.Continued.

* * *

A/N: That's it for the 12th chapter! Hope you guys forgive me for not updating sooner. Anyway, I have no idea what to do after the legend of Zelda play so I'm here to ask you guys about some suggestion for the upcoming chapters. Please pm me or include it in your reviews. PLEASE REVIEW

Next time: Yukimura has finally acquired the wind element and after he infused the water and wind element in his sword, Atobe found out where the light force is. Atobe started to attack our heroes, ending the whole play in a catastrophe. And, there will be special guests from another anime and an important OC so better expect more madness to come.


	13. The Legend of Zelda The legend ends

Chapter 13: The Legend of Zelda; The legend ends

Momo punched the air with his fist and started jumping around, "All right! We only have to get the wind element and finish Vaati off to get our score in the V.I.P card and then we can leave!"

The audience giggled.

"That's right. Now, where is the palace of wind you speak of?" Yukimura smiled as he stared at Momo for his energetic self.

"It's on top of the wind tribe's manor. To get to that place, there is a portal in top of Veil falls," Momo answered.

"Let's go," Yukimura replied as he walked ahead.

- - - - - - - - - - - - The Prince Of Tennis - - - - - - - - - - - - -

A blonde, blue-eyed thirteen-year-old handsome kid smirked as he watched the Legend of Zelda play. He placed his right elbow on the golden chair's armrest and rested his head on his hand, "_Ryuzaki Sakuno… interesting." _He suddenly crossed his legs.

His black-haired companion looked at him confusedly and rested his arms in the seat in front of him, "What are you thinking, president?" he asked not even looking at him.

"That auburn-haired girl… she looks cute, don't you think so, Ezekiel?"

At last, Ezekiel Gradstein puts aside his fear and looked nervously at his president's eyes, "S-So are you telling me… you're going t-to… but she's a commoner! And wealthy kids like us are forbidden to go out with commoners!"

"That rule," Nathaniel Schaeffer, the president, stares cruelly at Ezekiel, "who gives a damn about that?"

Ezekiel paled and hid behind his teddy bear, which came out from nowhere.

- - - - - - - - - - - - The Prince Of Tennis - - - - - - - - - - - - -

After some few days of long walks, they arrived finally at veil falls. Momo put his left hand above his brows and stared amazingly at the huge waterfalls, "Wow, would you look at how high that falls is!"

"Are you telling me that we have to get on top of that?" Yuki asked.

"W-Well… yeah," Momo worriedly answered, "B-But… I'm sure there's a shortcut up there."

Yukimura stared at him for a while then said, "I sure hope so. _Sakuno… our climax will soon arrive."_

Indeed, Yukimura and Momoshiro found a shortcut to get to the top of the falls. Surprisingly, they found an enormous whirlwind on top of the falls, which caught the two heroes and sent them flying in the clouds.

"O-OW! T-that hurts, darn it," Momo said while rubbing his hips.

Yukimura rubbed his head to ease the pain and looked at his surroundings. The two found themselves a thousand miles from the ground and they were both standing in a cloud!

"W-What the!?" Momo was shocked.

Yukimura saw a fifty-foot manor when he took a glimpse at his right, "I think we found the wind's tribe manor." Momo stared at the manor Yukimura is referring to and could only take the weight off his feet in surprise. Yukimura smiled at him and began to move towards the manor. He opened the door and found himself looking at a stairway that's about the same height as the whole manor. The stair is leading to an opened door which Yukimura assumed to be the wind tribe's base.

"L-Link! Don't tell me… we're going to climb that stair!" Momo paled as he said.

Yukimura only smiled adorably at him. Momo already knows what that meant. They climb the fifty-foot stairway, much to Momo's dismay. They arrived safely at the top (because the background is the only one moving, not them) and Momo acted like he was really tired from the one-hour climbing adventure.

"_I should use this kind of punishment to my teammates," _Tezuka suddenly thought.

Yukimura entered the opened door and saw two people wearing blue hoods with gold outlines, "Welcome, visitors. We're the wind tribe."

- - - - - - - - - - - - The Prince Of Tennis - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Nathaniel Schaeffer is Rikkai University's special guest for the festival. He was invited to witness a normal school's regular founding anniversary. His dad is also an important colleague of Rikkai's owner. The Schaeffer's company is well known for buying huge family-owned business and mercilessly taking over them, leaving the original owners bankrupt. In his school, Saint Stephen Academy, he's the student council president, even though he's only a first year student. He gains respect because of his capabilities and powerful personality.

Ezekiel Gradstein is Saint Stephen's vice-president. He is 'good friends' with Nathaniel and has a weak personality, extremely opposing his president.

Both of them went to Rikkai's theater to watch the play about princess Zelda and her savior, Link. Also, thanks to Nathaniel's professional undercover agents, he gathered sufficient information about the schools current activities and games. It also includes the V.I.P games for the tennis players.

"It looks fun… that V.I.P game, I mean," Nathaniel smirked.

Ezekiel was trembling when he replied, "Y-Yeah… y-you're right, p-president. B-But… about the girl you told m-me before… are you really," he gulped then continued, "going to break the rules?"

Nathaniel's eyes hid behind his bangs and after a couple of seconds, he glared at his black-haired, nervous companion, "I already told you," his voice was beginning to be ruthless, his eyes was becoming more and more frightening, "who… gives… A DAMN ABOUT THAT!"

Ezekiel fainted.

- - - - - - - - - - - - The Prince Of Tennis - - - - - - - - - - - - -

"The wind tribe?" Momo repeated.

"I presume you're the chosen one?" the taller guy, Shiraishi asked.

Yukimura nodded, "And are you the wind tribe's leader?"

This time, Shiraishi is the one who nodded, "Yes… and I believe you already know why we're here".

Momo nodded for no reason. Shiraishi and Yukimura rolled their eyes.

"The wind tribe is the guardian for the wind element, am I right?" Yukimura smiled.

Shiraishi looked at his other wind tribe follower, Kintarou, who was quiet all this time, "What's wrong, Kin-chan?"

Suddenly, Kintarou yelled, "I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO SAY! WHY ARE WE IN A PLAY WHEREIN WE DON'T KNOW OUR LINES?"

The audience giggled again.

Shiraishi sweat dropped, "A-Anyway, if you want to get the wind element, please proceed to this room," he opened a door leading to another staircase. "When you get to the top, you will be transported to the palace of winds, where the gyorg rests."

"The gyorg is the one who stole the wind element from us. He's an American huge guy with fingers that releases toxic and stares you down with three eyes," Kintarou suddenly blabbered.

"Isn't that how you pictured Echizen?" Momo sweat dropped.

"And that gyorg guy-" Kin-chan was cut off when Shiraishi suddenly begins to remove his bandages. "W-What are you doing?"

"Kin-chan is too noisy… I guess that means he wants to die…"

Kin-chan trembled and began waving his arms around, "I-I don't want to die!"

Shiraishi smiled and returned his attention to Yukimura and Momo. "Go ahead."

Yukimura and Momo entered the door and climb the staircase. When they arrived at the top, they were abruptly transported to another dimension. The two noticed that they were both floating in midair. "What the!"

Then, a huge American monster appeared. Yukimura and Momo sweat dropped at first followed by their eyes rolling, "Kintarou was telling the truth… who would have thought?" they both said in unison.

Without further ado, Yukimura jumped high and slashed his sword in the monster's abdomen, leaving the gyorg with huge damage. As the gyorg fell down, to the invisible floor in the sky, Yukimura ran towards him and stabbed the monster's eyes. But gyorg suddenly released toxic with his fingers, leaving Yukimura unable to move. He dropped in his knees and endured the pain as he coughed out poisonous miasma which spread to his body instantly when the gyorg released his toxics.

Momo watched as his partner starts to lose the battle. Gathering enough courage, he marched towards Yukimura and defended him with his body. "What, you think we'll just lose to you like that?"

The monster roared.

Yukimura grabbed Momo's shoulder and thanked him for giving him some time, "Thanks, now… I just have to destroy that fiend's toxic fingers… I'm sure that's where his weak spot is," Yukimura said while panting.

Momo grinned, "I'll hold him back for you, partner".

Yukimura smiled, "Thanks, partner".

Momo stopped the monster's movements with his repelling magic and Yuki took the opportunity to slash the monster in half, which he successfully finished. The monster exploded and as the smoke clears off, a green orb levitated and landed safely on Yukimura's hand. The wind element shines brightly on his hand. Momo stared at Yukimura for a while, before he finally grinned, "We did it, and we've finally collected all of the four elements."

Yukimura smiled in return, "Yeah… we have to get back to the elemental sanctuary now, huh?"

The two left the palace of winds and returned to the portal in which they came from. They were greeted by Shiraishi as they opened the door to the fifty-foot manor, "You guys defeated the gyorg, congratulations! I knew you were strong." Yukimura and Momo smiled at him. They went out of the manor, back to Veil Falls and traveled back to Hyrule Castle to infuse the remaining elements in the blade. The elemental sanctuary is placed inside the Hyrule Castle garden, in case you've forgotten.

- - - - - - - - - - - - The Prince Of Tennis - - - - - - - - - - - - -

A bored-looking guy sat down under a tree and stared at the people walking by. He slowly closes his eyes and began drifting to sleep. His Hyotei uniform attracted a lot of girls, and they began to giggle.

- - - - - - - - - - - - The Prince Of Tennis - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Yukimura and Momoshiro arrived at Hyrule town and found the royal guards patrolling the whole town. They went inside Mama's Café and asked about what happened to the kingdom. A random customer answered them, "The king is acting weird. He ordered the royal guards to look for this thing called, 'light force'. Unfortunately for him, no one knows where it is… Heck, no one knows what it IS in the first place!"

Momo stole a glance at Yuki.

"Light force… why is he looking for such a thing?" Yuki asked.

"Who knows? Anyway, we better get going! The elements are not going to fuse themselves, are they?" Momo replied.

Yukimura nodded and stood up. They left the café and proceed to the castle, where trouble awaits.

- - - - - - - - - - - - The Prince Of Tennis - - - - - - - - - - - - -

A vein popped on Marui's head. "Y-You're making fun of me, aren't you!"

"No." Tezuka bluntly said.

"YOU'RE LYING!"

"I'm not."

"Hey, are you watching the play or not? You guys are just disturbing the viewers! Get out of here!" a guy sitting from behind them suddenly said.

Marui, Sanada and Tezuka turned to the guy and gave him their scary faces. The guy paled and bowed, "P-Please forgive me! C-Continue watching the play!" and then, he ran as fast as he could.

"Annoying," the three said altogether.

"Hmph. I guess you won't be telling us even if we force you to hell, Tezuka. I'll just go on the backstage and ask Ryuzaki myself." Sanada suddenly said. He stood up and went to the backstage.

"Nice going fuku-buchou! I'll come with you!" Marui ran towards Sanada.

Sanada and Marui suddenly dropped to the floor.

"You won't be going anywhere. I set up wires, which will definitely stop you guys from going anywhere. Before you can even step forward, you'll just fall. And even of you can go as far as the backstage, you won't be looking very pretty, thus, making Sakuno ran from you." Tezuka said crossing his arms. When did he set up those wires?

"Darn you!" Sanada and Marui said in unison.

"Not only wires. An arcobaleno gave me some useful booby traps to stop you from going anywhere. Once you unluckily step one, it will… explode." Tezuka said.

- - - - - - - - - - - - The Prince Of Tennis - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Atobe smirked, "So… the fools finally completed all of the four elements, huh? They're thinking of transforming the blade into the legendary Four Swords… interesting."

Oshitari put his hand on the bed Sakuno was resting, and sat on it, "We better find the light force before they acquire that Four Swords thing, Vaati."

Ootori stared cutely at Oshitari, "Don't get too close with Princess Zelda!"

Atobe and Oshitari both ignored him, "The problem is… no one knows where it is," Atobe replied to Oshitari's previous statement, "but I'm sure... we'll find it somehow… soon".

Atobe stood from his throne and left the room. Oshitari and Ootori only wondered where he's going.

- - - - - - - - - - - - The Prince Of Tennis - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Yukimura and Momo sneaked inside the castle, since the castle is strongly guarded by other knights and guards. Since the king became weird (due to the fact that Atobe took over his body), the castle is strictly closed to other commoners that want to get in. It's not that hard to sneak in for Yukimura, though… since he was childhood friends with the princess, and they sometimes sneak in and out of the castle to play when they were still younger.

They arrived safely in the castle garden, without being noticed by guards. They entered the elemental sanctuary and hurriedly infused the water and wind element in his blade. He dropped his sword on the pedestal and the four elements glowed, and its light surrounded the sword. After a while, the sword's handhold suddenly changed its shape and turned gold. With the power of the four elements, Yukimura's blade has become the Four Swords. It has now the power to break Vaati's curse in the princess. Yukimura was surprised at the sudden change and when he was about to try his new sword, another doorway opened. Forging the sacred blade somehow opened the doorway. It leads to a room that holds the secret of the light force, and so they went inside. The two found themselves staring at a huge stained glass which serves as a window for the dark room.

Momo deciphered the stained glass and read, "A long, long time ago… when the world was on the verge of being swallowed by shadow…a tiny Picori appeared from the sky bringing the hero of men a sword and a golden light. With wisdom and courage, the hero drove out the darkness. With peace had been restored, the people enshrined that blade with care. And the force of the golden light embodied in Hyrule's princess, shone forth upon the lands".

Silence enveloped the two when they heard a laugh coming from a familiar voice, "Heh… so that's what it means…"

Then suddenly, King Daltus appeared in front of them, in the middle of the stained glass, "Ezlo… you really are too kind. You guide me here and decoded where the light force is. You've been far too generous, but now, I no longer have any use for you." Then, King Daltus suddenly transformed into Atobe, "At last I've found the location of the light force!" Atobe teleported out of the scene, but not before hitting Yukimura with his power.

Luckily, Yukimura only took minor damages. Momo looked at him seriously, "Vaati disguised himself as the king to search for the light force. When he learned of this place, he waited for us to reforge the blade. And if that stained glass is accurate, princess Zelda holds the light force."

Yukimura stared back at him, "I know… He'll do whatever it takes to steal the power from her. If he succeeds, we may never be able to get the princess back…"

"We must stop Vaati."

- - - - - - - - - - - - The Prince Of Tennis - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Atobe entered the room where Sakuno and the others are. He stared at Sakuno for a while before Oshitari interrupted him, "Where did you go?"

"Yeah… it's rude to just leave without telling us where you're going, Vaati." Ootori added.

Atobe smirked and approached Sakuno, who was lying on the bed, "Hime… you're a really important character in this story, huh?" he muttered.

Sakuno looked at him with wide eyes, "W-What are you talking about?"

Atobe suddenly shot up and yelled, "Hime holds the power of the light force! She shall now be working with me in order to defeat Link!"

Ootori and Oshitari were left dumbfounded when Atobe left the room hurriedly with Sakuno.

Atobe dragged Sakuno into the other parts of Hyrule Castle, only to reveal that the castle was transformed into darkness. (1)The once white-painted walls turned into medieval gray walls. The lively red carpets turned into dull maroon ones. The orange fire in the chandeliers turned green. The once cheerful castle of Hyrule turned into a villain's lair. Atobe calls this, the Dark Hyrule Castle. Sakuno looked at him with deep eyes, which Atobe can't read. He smirked and laughed evilly afterwards.

Yukimura and Momo ran out of the elemental sanctuary and into the castle's garden back. They were both surprised to see the colorful flowers just a few minutes ago all withered. The walls changed as well. They went inside the castle and stares shockingly at the huge changes in the castle. They hurriedly went to the throne where they thought Vaati was in… but were only disappointed to see Ootori and Oshitari staring back at them.

"If you're looking for the prince, we don't know where he is," Oshitari said while crossing his arms on his chest.

Ootori turned his back on them, "He took the princess with him as well."

Momo's brows met, "He knew we'll be coming here first! Darn!" he turned to face Yukimura, "Let's look for them someplace else."

Yukimura nodded and before they were completely out of the room, Oshitari stopped them, "But that also means that you have to deal with us first, right?"

Momo smirked and gestured Yukimura to go ahead, "I'll take care of these guys… you go on and look for that conceited king."

Yukimura didn't bother to look twice at him and went out of the room to look for the princess and Vaati. Momo's background turned into twinkling lights and stars, "_I should look like a hero now! Boy, that was some great acting! I wonder if there's a talent scout here or some-" _his thoughts was cut off when he was hit by a tennis ball.

"Great serve, Ootori," Oshitari praised.

"Thanks."

- - - - - - - - - - - - The Prince Of Tennis - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Yukimura searched the whole castle to see where the princess and Vaati are. He opens every door he passes, but he still can't find where they are. He was starting to lose hope and stops at the hallway to glance at the huge metallic window. He kneeled down for a moment and after regaining his composure, he stood up and continues his search.

"That guy just doesn't know when to give up. Can't he see that he can no longer defeat me since I have you?" Atobe said as he watches Yukimura from a flat screen television (2). Sakuno was shivering since Atobe was currently hugging her intimately. She blushed and can't speak but at least tried to come up with a few words, "E-Eto… I-I w-was…"

Atobe smiled, "What," he lifted her head through her chin, "I can't hear you," he tightened his embrace on her and slowly leans forward… another attempt to kiss her.

…But was prevented by the sudden bang of the door. Yukimura opened the door with force.

Atobe turned his head to look at him, and back at the television to see that the screen is no longer featuring the one who holds the Four Swords, Link. "So you found a way to get here huh?"

"S-Sakuno-san! I'm here to save you!" Yukimura said.

Atobe snickered and said, "Sakuno? Who are you talking about? There is no Sakuno here."

Yukimura ignored the king and smiled charmingly at Sakuno. He offered his hand to her, "Let's go home."

Sakuno blushed and her heart beat rose up.

Atobe interrupted the two, "Yeah, you can go home," he stood up and gently released Sakuno from his embrace, "if you can defeat me, commoner."

Yukimura drew his sword and pointed it to Atobe, "We've never fought before in the nationals, have we? But I think you already know who'll be the winner if we did encounter each other that time."

"Yeah, ore-sama will surely win against you." Atobe answered confidently.

"You cocky brat. You lost to Echizen-kun… and now you're really confident in beating me?"

Sakuno paled at the conversation of the two renowned tennis players in Japan, "_S-Scary… they're taking this play personally."_

Atobe drew his sword and aggressively slashed his sword on Yukimura. Yukimura quickly dodges and used the power of the Four Swords to defend himself against the other attacks of the king.

Sakuno, on the other hand, slowly walks away from the fighting scene. She's too scared of being tangled with those two and so she hid behind the red curtains.

After letting Atobe finished his attacks, he used the opportunity to strike Atobe in his back. Atobe couldn't dodge it and his blood dripped everywhere. He wants to take revenge so he threw his sword and began summoning the devil's power. He used this power to fire black beams to Yukimura's direction. Yukimura tried to dodge it but failed to do so. He was caught in the black beam and he struggled to free himself. When he successfully got out from the beam, he found himself looking at Atobe who was now above him, ready to slash him in half with a black sword no one knows where it came from.

- - - - - - - - - - - - The Prince Of Tennis - - - - - - - - - - - - -

"A-Arcobaleno?" Sanada asked.

"Ciaossu!" an infant suddenly said.

"Meet the arcobaleno who has the yellow pacifier, Reborn." Tezuka introduced.

"I also brought with me some of the family members," Reborn said.

"Nice going," Tezuka said.

The infant jumps on Tezuka's shoulder and sat on it.

"W-What the hell is this?" Marui said, not moving a single muscle.

"I'm a part of the tenth's Vongola family, you see. The Tezuka family has made an alliance with the Vongola family," Tezuka said with his serious face.

"Kunimitsu helped the judaime (10th) when he was in trouble, so it's our turn to help him!" A guy with silver hair suddenly said.

"Meet Gokudera Hayato, the family's guardian of storm." Reborn said.

Then, several more guys entered.

"Meet the seven guardians of the Vongola family." Reborn said. "The ring of sun, storm, mist, cloud, thunder, rain and sky."

Marui sweat dropped. "T-They are all Mafioso! What the hell! Tezuka's a mafia?!"

A girl with eye patch suddenly interrupted him, "I heard you're troubling Sa-chan! I'm Chrome Dokuro, and I won't forgive that!"

"She's the guardian of mist." Reborn said.

"Anyone who messes with the family goes through me!" the silver-haired guy from before said and prepared some of his dynamites.

"Gokudera Hayato, the guardian of storm," Reborn introduced.

A guy holding a bamboo sword smiled and said, "Now, now, Gokudera, they're only normal students."

"Yamamoto Takeshi, the guardian of rain," Reborn said again.

"Annoying," A serious black-haired guy said.

"Hibari Kyoya, the guardian of cloud." Reborn said again.

"Let's punish them to the extreme!" A guy with bandages around his arms said while throwing punches on the air.

"Sasagawa Ryohei, the guardian of sun." Reborn said.

"Let me join the play, too! Let me! Let me!' A five-year old kid wearing an afro and cow-stripped suit said.

"The useless one, Lambo, the guardian of thunder," Reborn said and turned to a weak-looking guy. "It's your turn to shine, Tsuna." He shot the guy with his gun.

Marui's jaw hit the ground, "H-He shot him!"

The weak-looking guy suddenly turned aggressive.

"I will stop those guys with my dying will!" The guy yelled to the sky.

"The tenth boss of the Vongola, Sawada Tsunayoshi, the one who holds the ring of sky." Reborn smirked.

"You guys are trying to find out Tezuka's secret, eh? Well, here's our answer!" Gokudera threw his dynamites on Marui and Sanada. Sanada dodges it but Marui was hit.

The explosion disturbed the play and the staff of the backstage. But still, the explosions continued.

Sakuno peeked from the curtains and saw the 'Home Tutor Hitman! Reborn' characters. "V-Vongola family? What are they doing here?" Sakuno went to the audience's seats and greeted them.

"Everyone! Did you come here to watch the play? Thank you!" Sakuno bowed.

"S-SAKUNO?!" All of them yelled.

Sakuno took a step forward and accidentally stepped on an unconscious Marui on the ground. His eyes were twirling. "M-Marui-san!"

Sano suddenly announced the play cancelled. The whole theater was destroyed because of Gokudera's dynamites. "_The play was cancelled in the end,_" Sano thought between sobs, "_and its almost over, too. _I HATE MAFIOSO AND TENNIS PLAYERS!" Sano screamed through the top of his voice.

Everyone on the play sweat dropped.

Atobe brushed his hair with his hand, "And I almost get to finish you…" he added sarcastically, "that's just great."

"Why not try telling that to yourself?" Yukimura replied while looking at the fake blood dripping from his body.

"What? Cancelled? I didn't even get the chance to fight!" Momo grabbed Sano through his collar.

"Well, at least it's over. I've had it with these morons," Oshitari said as he walked away from the theater.

"Kami Kurosu (3)" Hibari suddenly said and charged towards Sanada with his pair of tonfas. Sakuno's eyes widen and tried to get between Sanada and Hibari. Hibari stopped when he saw Sakuno in front of him, "Move," he ordered.

"No!" Sakuno replied, "They're just normal students, they're not mafia like Kunimitsu onii-sama and I!"

Tezuka and Sanada's eyes widen. "_S-S-o that means… Ryuzaki is Tezuka's_…"

Sakuno kept her courageous look then Chrome suddenly placed her right hand on Sakuno's left shoulder and smiled sweetly, "Sakuno-san, you just blurted out your secret".

Sakuno's shoulder stiffened, "E-EH! I-I DID?" Chrome nodded.

Seigaku and all the other V.I.P gamers stared at her. All this time… they never knew that Sakuno is Tezuka's stepsister. Seigaku only knew that her mother got married to a respectable guy but they never thought it was Tezuka's father. Tezuka held Sakuno's hand and his glasses beamed as he looks at the theater stage, "That's right, I'm her onii-sama since last month and she's staying in our house. Now, anyone who wants to be her boyfriend deals with me, and father first!"

Everyone was quiet.

The silence was broken when someone from the higher chairs in the audience laughed insanely. "Who gives a damn about that?" Nathaniel smirked and looked down at everyone and Sakuno who was now looking back at him confusedly.

Everyone who has a crush on Sakuno stared angrily at Nathaniel Schaeffer.

* * *

A/N: Wow! A new bishounen has appeared! And the longest chapter I've ever written. I hope you guys like it. I think it is too rushed, though. Sorry for the wrong spellings and grammar… I'm not really good with those. Anyway, please review.

(1) That's how it is in the real game, people.

(2)Where did that come from? They're in an era where televisions were not invented yet, right? How did that happen, I wonder?

(3)If you guys are watching KHR, then you already know what this means… but for those who do not, it means 'I'll bite you to death'. It's Hibari's favorite line.

Special thanks to: **Tainted Silver Rose**, **Ace Clover**, **kunja**, **Brunettebeauty2**, **chivini**, **yuukiyume**, **SasoLOVE111**, and **rebeccasanfujieijilvr** for review, alerts and faves :)

DISCLAIMER APPLIES

Next time: The play has finally ended and everyone went back to their own games. Sakuno found herself inside Rikkai University's host club! And just what is this Nathaniel planning? Find out what happens next in 'A day at Rikkaidai".


	14. Rikkai University Host Club

Chapter 14: Rikkai University Host Club

The theater room was quiet and empty. No one would have thought that just a few minutes ago, World War Three occurred in this place. There was a series of murderous glares, explosions and brutal, yet _colorful _vocabulary that occurred in this place just a while ago.

"Mou," a timid girl uttered before wearing her green skirt back, "The play didn't end like it was supposed to."

Her cheerful companion energetically placed her hand on her friend's shoulders, "SAKUNO! What are you talking about!? That was the best ending I have ever seen in a play!"

Sakuno looked at Tomoka with bewildered eyes.

"Are you dense!? Almost all of the guys back there glared at that new character, Nathaniel Scha-- something! OH, THE POWER OF MOE!" Tomoka screamed.

Sakuno's eyes changed and turned into a dot, she force a smile and asked, "M-Moe?"

Tomoka looked confidently at her, "It's an otaku thing… you wouldn't know."

Sakuno forced a smile on her lips and touched it gently as she recalled what happened a few minutes ago, and blushed.

- - - - - - - - - - - - The Prince Of Tennis - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Men's changing room

"Boy, that was some play we had there! And we've all got perfect scores in our V.I.P card because of the result!" Momo said cheerfully as he stares at his V.I.P card.

He was answered by annoyed groans from other men in the changing room.

"Looks like you're the only one thinking about that," Oishi replied, "I mean… look at them! They're determined to kill someone!" he continued as he pointed his index finger on the other tennis players from different schools.

F L A S H B A C K

"_Who gives a damn about that?" Nathaniel smirked and looked down at everyone and Sakuno who was now looking back at him confusedly._

_Everyone who has a crush on Sakuno stared angrily at Nathaniel Schaeffer._

_He slowly stood up and went down the staircase to reach Sakuno. When he finally reached her, he felt murderous glares shower him from other men, but he ignored it anyway. He snatched Sakuno's hand away from Tezuka and intertwined it with his. He smirked and he quickly leans forward for a deep kiss. Everyone in the room jaw dropped. Sakuno's eyes widen, she couldn't think of anything else to do but to blush madly. She was too weak to break herself from the kiss. She remained shocked even after Tezuka punched the foreign kid on his cheek to break the kiss. _

_That was another side of Tezuka they never knew about._

_Nathaniel touched the part where Tezuka had punched him, "Overprotective onii-san, eh?" He was about to punch the stoic captain back but was stopped halfway by his vice-president, Ezekiel Gradstein._

"_Kaicho (president), mou, stop bothering people already," Ezekiel said with a serious face._

_Good thing that he listened to his vice-president, or else he would've called the flotilla to come. He peacefully left the room, but not before seductively holding Sakuno's chin. Everyone knows he will not leave this room alive after what he did. And so, they all charged to the European kid to teach him a lesson of their own. But what they do not know is that Ezekiel was actually a professional combatant, whose sole purpose is to protect his master, Nathaniel, or any other member of his family. Nathaniel only smirked as he watches his subordinate carefully beating (he doesn't want to leave a mark) every guy who attacks them. After getting bored for a moment, he opened the door and left the room._

_Demonic eyes glared at the disappearing figure of the blonde first year, followed by his loyal companion._

E N D O F F L A S H B A C K

Momo placed his card back to his pocket, "Well… who wouldn't be when you see your crush being kissed by some foreign guy she has never met before?"

They glared murderously at Momo, which made him paled and ran outside.

"_He stole… my angel's first kiss. (cursing)" _Kirihara thought as he clenched his fist.

Fuji, on the other hand, was thinking of some medieval ways of torturing the arrogant kid.

Atobe was bothered by everything he just witnessed and he just kept on tightening his grip on his cell phone. Who would've thought that there's someone in this world that's more conceited than Atobe. And Nathaniel is one wealthy kid, too… Probably even richer than Atobe Keigo or Tamaki Suou (2).

- - - - - - - - - - - - The Prince Of Tennis - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Sakuno waved goodbye to Tomo since they still have to finish their own games. When she opened the door leading to the hallway of the university, she was met by beaming glasses looking down on her, "Sakuno…"

"Onii-sama…"

Tezuka gave her a sympathetic look, "I've already thanked the Vongola for coming and asked them to leave," he recalled about what happened at the end of the play, "How are you feeling?"

Sakuno forced herself to be cheerful, "Don't worry about me! I'll be fine! It's only a kiss anyway. No harm done! Nevertheless, I'm glad that Reborn-san and the others could come," Sakuno walked away from her stepbrother and tries her best not to worry him any longer by acting cheerful and such.

Before Sakuno turned into a corner, Tezuka grabbed her arm and patted her head lightly. Sakuno gave him her sweetest smile and hugged him before she turned into a corner and leave. Tezuka followed her movements through his eyes and he pushed his glasses upward, "_Forgive me. If I knew this would've happened then I shouldn't have let you come."_

Sakuno is not a good liar. It's obvious that Nathaniel's kiss bothers her like witnessing a murder case being unfold before her eyes. But she doesn't want anyone to be anxious because of her personal problem. Sure, that was her first kiss… but no one else should be concerned by it. And of course, she was being her usual self by entering a random room accidentally because she too absent-minded.

"Irrashaimase!" A dozen of good-looking men greeted her with their seductive poses. Sakuno's eyes disappeared and her whole face turned red.

- - - - - - - - - - - - The Prince Of Tennis - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Back at Saori's coffee shop…

"So that's why you look troubled before," Yukimura's brows raised after he heard Sanada's explanations about suddenly disappearing earlier that day. "I guess you're already satisfied since you figured out Tezuka and Sakuno-san's relationship… and won't be bothering them any longer."

"You shouldn't worry about me that much," Sanada paused to take a sip from his tea, "anyway, shouldn't you be more concerned about Ryuzaki?"

Yukimura suddenly became teary-eyed, which made Sanada fluttered. "Sakuno-san… she doesn't deserve this kind of horrible punishment," Yukimura's background turned into twinkling lights, "Having her first kiss stolen from a guy she haven't met before." He's acting like a prince, who just lost his princess.

Sanada sighed and said, "Admit it; you were planning on stealing her first kiss before, weren't you? That Schaeffer guy was just one step ahead of you."

Yukimura's expression changed and his twinkling lights background turned into a dull, dark graded purple one. "One step ahead from me," Yukimura's bangs slowly cover his eyes, "If only I could change everything."

Yukimura tilted his head sideways to gaze at the sky from the windows, "If only… our school didn't invite _him_ here."

(1) Saori suddenly dropped the tray filled with hot coffee and tea she was carrying. She should really apologize to Miyuki's feet for accidentally spilling hot beverages on them, much to Miyuki's dismay. Saori did not hear Miyuki's complaints, instead, stared at Yukimura and Sanada with big round teary eyes, "No, this can't be true," she accidentally stepped on Miyuki's 'wet' foot and hurriedly ran towards Yukimura and Sanada's table, "S-Sakuno-chan had her first kiss!? And not to you," she violently grabbed Yukimura on his collar, "WHY!" She yelled.

Yukimura sweat dropped.

- - - - - - - - - - - - The Prince Of Tennis - - - - - - - - - - - - -

"W-Who… w-what… w-w-where a-am I-I?" Sakuno stuttered as she stares at the good-looking men who greeted her earlier.

Coincidentally, the manager of the game greeted her, "Welcome to Rikkaidai's host club! Bringing you the best entertainment we can for a low, low price of one hundred dollars, each host!"

"One hundred dollars, that's too cheap!" one of the girls who just arrived said.

"Yeah… but they look so cool! I'll take the guy with red necktie!" one girl said.

After a while, Sakuno finally absorbed all of the information…

Rich Bastards (3).

She nervously took her card out of her pocket and showed it to the manager of the game, "A V.I.P gamer, I see. Well… the fact is… my host club is short on female crew," the manager observes Sakuno's figure from head to toe, "that Seigaku uniform looks cute on you… but I need more… what's the word? Oh yeah, _impact._"

All of what the manager said confused Sakuno.

"What I mean is… you're now going to work for the host club until I dismiss you. That'll be your game."

Niou Masaharu, who was currently chatting with three women (he's a regular customer), glanced at Sakuno and the manager's direction.

- - - - - - - - - - - - The Prince Of Tennis - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Sakuno played with the hem of her maid skirt. The manager asked her to greet the customers in a maid outfit and look cute like always. She wondered about the cute part but the manager only said to act natural… her natural ways are totally cute.

"I-I-Irra… shai… m-mase, m-master," Sakuno greeted a guy who was now blushing madly.

The guy then wondered into paradise.

"M-Master… a-are you okay?" Sakuno asked and leaned forward to the guy's red face. She tried to place her hand on his forehead, to see if he was sick or something but was stopped immediately by the manager, "No, no, Sakuno-chan. You're not allowed to touch a customer until he becomes your official _master_."

The blushing guy regained his self-control and said, "I-I'lltakeher."

The manager grinned, "Two hundred dollars. She's our _special guest _after all."

Before the guy could protest, another man suddenly spoke, "I'll give you three hundred."

Sakuno blushed when she looked at the man who interrupted the manager and the previous guy's negotiation. "R-Ryoma-kun."

"Deal," the manager replied. He took Ryoma's payment and asked Sakuno to take him to an empty table.

The two sat on a silk couch with a mahogany coffee table placed horizontally in front of them. "A-Ano… Ryoma-kun… I'll get us some drinks… W-What would you like?"

"Anything," Ryoma answered and looked at the other customers who were busily chatting with the hosts, and hostesses.

Sakuno went inside another room and when she got out, she was carrying a tray with two cups of tea and two strawberry cakes. She gently placed the tray onto the coffee table and placed the teacups and cakes in front of Ryoma.

"Ryuzaki didn't fall over this time," Ryoma commented.

Sakuno's whole body stiffened and blushed at Ryoma's comment, "U-Uhm… you-re r-right… t-that's a g-good thing. I-If I break the t-teacups t-then I'll have to p-pay for them."

Sakuno was shaking when she sat beside him. He sighed and said, "Why should you be worried? You're a Tezuka now. You're rich."

Sakuno stiffened even more, "I-I'm sorry I didn't tell anyone… A-And besides… I don't want to trouble my new family."

Then, there was an awkward silence that enveloped them. Sakuno tried to start a conversation, "R-Ryoma-kun… I don't think you're the type of guy who would go inside a club like this."

Ryoma instantly replied, "That's right," he lowered the brim of his cap, "but you're here and that changes everything."

Sakuno blushed and quickly looked at her frilly leggings.

The silence that enveloped them now wasn't awkward anymore.

- - - - - - - - - - - - The Prince Of Tennis - - - - - - - - - - - - -

While Jirou Akutagawa was still busy with his nap, a random paper suddenly covered his face. After having the need to breathe, he quickly removes the source of his temporary suffocation and read it. He stares at the paper with boredom and threw the paper away, and caught another guy's attention.

"What's this? Akutagawa-senpai, you shouldn't be throwing things randomly in other students' school," the guy was revealed to be Ootori Choutarou.

"Read it," was Jirou's statement before he went back to sleep.

And he obeyed his senpai's order. After a few seconds of silence, he ran as fast as he could. He dropped the paper and it read: Come and join us for some fun in our HOST CLUB! Featuring our special guest, RYUZAKI SAKUNO. Room 309.

And under it was a picture of Sakuno wearing a Lolita outfit.

- - - - - - - - - - - - The Prince Of Tennis - - - - - - - - - - - - -

The comfortable silence between Sakuno and Ryoma was interrupted by the manager, "Time's up, Echizen-san."

Ryoma looked at him with bored expression, "V.I.P gamer."

"R-Ryoma-kun, don't say you're a V.I.P gamer or else he-" Sakuno tried to stop him but the manager's grin was one step ahead of her,

"Then you'll work here as a host until I dismiss you, Echizen-san," the manager's grin became wider… and creepier, "with your looks, It'll definitely attract _a lot _of female customers."

Ryoma could only mutter a weak 'eh' before being dragged away by the manager. Sakuno watched the two as they left the scene. She sighed and went inside the club's changing room and changed her outfit into a kimono. She went back to the front desk to greet new customers. She was surprisingly greeted by sleepy eyes from a certain Hyotei regular.

"I couldn't sleep because of the noise outside. There's a couch here, right? Let me sleep in one." Jirou Akutagawa said. Looks like he got here before Ootori… how'd that happen?

Sakuno forced a cute smile, "Y-You have to request a hostess before we give you any couch, J-Jirou-san."

Unexpectedly, Jirou grabbed her arm and dragged Sakuno into the nearest couch. Sakuno was being pulled like a child dragging his teddy bear around. "J-Jirou-san, wait-"

With an impulsive stop, Jirou asked Sakuno to sit on the couch and he, on the other hand, lied on the couch. He rested his head on Sakuno's lap and held her hand. Sakuno was astonished at first but smiled when she gently stares at Jirou's peaceful face. She caressed his hair and murmured, "Have a nice dream."

- - - - - - - - - - - - The Prince Of Tennis - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Atobe stared blankly at the guy who cornered him just a few seconds ago, "What do you want?"

Niou gave him his slyest grin, "Ryuzaki Sakuno-chan. I saw her inside the host club just a while ago. She was wearing a cute maid outfit. And every ten minutes after entertaining a guest, she changes her clothes."

Atobe twitched and he was about to leave when Niou added something, "Oh, before I forget… Nathaniel Schaeffer is on his way there. I told him that information before I went here to see you."

Atobe glared at the trickster but decided to not say anything else. He quickly took his cell phone from his pocket and dialed a number, "Send the nearest helicopter in Rikkaidai."

Another rich bastard…

A little while later…

A golden helicopter landed on the University's rooftop, with Atobe patiently waiting for its arrival. He went inside the helicopter and Kabaji followed after him. Kabaji was carrying tons of papers piled together. Atobe ordered the pilot to fly the helicopter around the whole university while Kabaji throws the piles of paper as they go around.

The people who are currently wandering around the school noticed a sudden rain of paper coming from a certain gold helicopter. Kirihara caught one of the papers and looked at it. It's the same Host Club poster as what Jirou and Choutarou saw before but under Sakuno's picture was a handwritten note, "Nathaniel Schaeffer's headed that way. Do everything just to stop him!"

A moment of silence…

Tennis players started to groan annoyingly…

Atobe spoke, with a megaphone in hand, "We can't let him do _that _again. Grab her before he does… and later, give her to me."

Everyone knows he smirked at the last sentence but the tennis players (and Kirihara's men) ignored it and ran rapidly into the third floor.

Make way for Sakuno's lovers express- Choo! Choo!

Kintarou (who was inside the building during Atobe's 'speech') was carrying a paper bag full of bread when he encountered a battalion of Sakuno's fans rushing to one room in the third floor. Kintarou knows that Sakuno is their primary purpose for going into that floor and so he decided to follow them. When he arrived at the third floor of the building, he dropped the bread he was currently eating and jaw dropped. The floor's walls are covered with Sakuno's posters in different outfits… and looking cutely at every shot.

"W-When did she… she was just…" Kintarou couldn't find the right words to say.

Then, his face dropped into the ground (smashing the bread he dropped) when a bunch of familiar faces ran over him.

"I won't let Nathaniel hurt you again!" Kirihara said as he stepped on Kintarou's back.

Kin-chan heard curses from Marui Bunta's mouth when he stepped on his head.

"Unforgivable!" the twins, Youhei and Kouhei yelled when they stepped on Kin-chan's hand.

"I can't believe it! I actually got lost on the way here! I'm so stupid," Choutarou murmured after he stepped on Kintarou.

After making sure that there will be no one else that will step on him that day, he stood up…

… But

BLAM!

Tooyama Kintarou slammed; face first, on the floor. This time, harder than the first.

"Nyah! I'll save O'chibi's girlfriend, nyah!"

Fuji handed Kawamura his racket, "BURNING! LET'S SAVE TEZUKA'S SISTER, BABY!" The way he stepped on Kintarou's back will surely leave a mark (footprint mark) tomorrow morning.

"Saa… I can't wait to execute my medieval ways of torturing a guy."

"Ii data…" Inui said, but he was not running like the others. He saw Kintarou flat on the ground but still purposely step on him.

And he appeared… the former Yamabuki regular, Akutsu Jin, who saw Kintarou with a lot of foot marks on him. He grinned evilly and stepped solidly on Kintarou's head… for no reason.

"A host club… that sounds fun," Kajimoto Takahisa, who has nothing to do with Sakuno, said after he stepped on Kintarou's leg.

Shinji Ibu silently walked past Kintarou (without stepping on him), but went back and purposely stepped on him anyway… what's up with that?

Yukimura had his hand rubbing his chin and walked on Kintarou, knowing that he's there.

"Aniki, wait! There's a lot of way to torture a guy without using medieval ways," Fuji Yuuta yelled and reached his hands to his brother, stepping on Kintarou's head in the process.

"Ah, Yuuta. Sorry. I can't hear you," Fuji slowly stops and replied.

"Aniki, I'm serious!" But Fuji ignored his brother and moved ahead.

After a few minutes of _ceasefire_, Kintarou stood up… his eyes flaming with anger, ran as fast as he can and went ahead of all of those who stepped on him, "SAKUNO-CHAN! THEY STEPPED ON ME!" He yelled while crying a fountain of tears and entered the host club room.

Everyone's jaw dropped literally on the ground, when they saw Sakuno peacefully sleeping. It's not that jaw dropping seeing her that, in fact, she's really cute in that peaceful state… but on her lap is Jirou Akutagawa's head! ON HER LAP! IN A KIMONO! That's almost as unforgivable as Nathaniel Schaeffer KISSING Sakuno. Kintarou and the others could only stare at them.

And then _he_ arrived…

* * *

A/N: Okay, that's it for this chapter. Seriously… besides the next chapter, I don't know what is going to happen next. PLEASE GIVE ME SUGGESTIONS OR IDEAS… and reviews, if possible. And… no, I'm not yet dead lol XD. I laughed at that review. I just turned into a college student… which, I guess is the same thing as being dead XD.

(1) Saori Tetsu and Miyuki Minaguchi were the OCs in chapter two, two characters that I own.

(2) One of the main male characters in 'Ouran High School Host Club', an anime which I do not own.

(3) Fujioka Haruhi's, main female character of OHSHC, favorite line when commenting on Ouran's students' financial status.

I DISCLAIM. This anime/manga is owned by Konomi Takeshi-sama.

Special thanks to: **Brunettebeauty2**,** VampireBlood22**, **SasoLOVE111**, **Tainted Silver Rose** (yeah… and thanks for the idea), **animefreak7574**, **dijanexryoma-kun**, **Sakumi Echizen**, **rebeccasanfujieijilvr**, **yuukiyume**, **xXxDiscarded AngelxXx**, and **xname** for reviews, faves and alerts.

Next time: Revelation of Nathaniel Schaeffer's past. More insane and blushing tennis players... and a signed contract. Find out what else will happen in the next chapter!!!


	15. True Strength

Chapter 15: True Strength

The manager of the host club popped out like a mushroom, "Excuse me, Yukimura-kun… what's with all these ruckus?"

Yukimura apologized and bowed, "I'm sorry for the troubles my V.I.P gamers are giving to you. But… you see… Sakuno-chan is…"

The manager introduced himself (at last), "I'm the manager of this club, Nakayama Akihito. Ryuzaki Sakuno-chan is my best hostess here. Is there a problem?"

Fuji interrupted them, "Yes, there is a problem. Jirou-san is overstaying his welcome."

Kin-chan suddenly appeared in Fuji's back. "And he's being WAY TOO comfortable with Sa-chan! There are rules against that or something, right?"

Nakayama weakly placed his hand on the back of his head, "Well… there are… but," he suddenly changed his expression and grinned creepily, "there are also RULES regarding PERSISTENT CUSTOMERS… _just like Echizen-kun."_

The tennis players shifted their attention from Jirou and Sakuno to Nakayama.

Nakayama dragged the tennis players away, "All of you are tennis players, right? I have my challenge for you… _pretty boys_."

After a while, the tennis players came out of room wearing coat and ties.

"WHAT THE FUDGE STICKS DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING TO US, HUH?" Kirihara yelled, who was forced to wear green coat and a yellow tie. "I'M NOT EVEN A V.I.P GAMER!"

Marui, on the other hand, slowly walks away from the group and approaches Sakuno. He grabbed Jirou's head (his eyes beaming), and threw him away like he was garbage. Jirou was thrown over the tennis players and Nakayama's direction. They stared blankly at Jirou at first but then got surprised at his sudden 'ordinary' entrance.

Jirou has finally woken up and massaged his aching head, "What happened?"

Atobe finally appeared and answered him, "You were planning on taking Hime away from me, just like the others... huh, Jirou?"

Jirou stared at him confusedly.

Nakayama sighed and pushed the other tennis players (including Marui) to the front desk and commanded them to entertain female guests, "For Yukimura-kun and the other Rikkaidai tennis team… this is the least you can do for bothering my club."

Meanwhile, Ryoma, who was busy eating his blancmange with another girl, smirked when he stares at the other senpais who was now forced to work under Nakayama.

…

'Heaven on earth' is what the girls in the front desk of the host club calls this place. Fuji Syuusuke, Kikumaru Eiji, Tooyama Kintarou, Ootori Choutarou, Atobe Keigo… and a WHOLE LOT MORE! They can pick whoever they want… and they're theirs for a whole ten minutes! The girls screeched and nosebleed. They became wild (their eyes' turned into hearts) and started grabbing their dream guy's arm and dragged them to tables and couches, much to the players' dismay.

Nakayama grinned, "My club is SO going to earn a lot today."

- - - - - - - - - - - - The Prince Of Tennis - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Nathaniel was eavesdropping on the whole conversation from the door outside. He arrived several minutes earlier… shortly after 'Sakuno's lovers express' arrived, but decided not to come in until the other tennis players are calmed down. And then, an unexpected event occurred… Nakayama Akihito turned the tennis players into hosts for the hour and left Sakuno sleeping peacefully alone.

"K-Kaicho… c-can you please give my teddy bear back?" Eze-chan weakly said as he tries to grab his teddy bear away from his master.

Nathaniel moved Teddy Bear farther from Eze-chan's grasp, "No. Teddy Bear stays with me until I get to Sakuno-chan."

Eze cried a fountain of tears, "I-I'm sorry for leading you the wrong way! I just didn't know that room 309 means that it is in the third floor! And Niou Masaharu told me it's located on the other building!"

Nathaniel looked at Ezekiel. He sighed and threw Teddy Bear back on Ezekiel's face, harshly. He opened the golden knob of the door and petals of red roses flew onto him (1).

"I-I-Irra…shai..m-mase… m-master (2)," another hostess stuttered and bowed.

He was surely thinking of a lot of perverted things, considering his age.

The V.I.P gamers turned their head dramatically on the newly-arrived kishin (3).

"Welcome, sir! Who would you like to be your host today?" Nakayama greeted, rubbing his hands against each other. He knew that Nathaniel is an important guest in their school and should be treated like he was the king of the world.

Nathaniel answered, without looking at him, "I'll give you ten for the sleeping kimono girl."

"T-Ten?" Nakayama asked, confused.

"Ten thousand should be good enough for your club. Or would you prefer ten million?" Nathaniel replied. Ezekiel, who was hiding behind his teddy bear, could only roll his eyes.

"T-T-TEN M-M-MILLION?" the manager felt like he could almost faint.

Nathaniel snapped his fingers and a guy wearing a black coat and tie, and really cool shades, offered the manager a briefcase filled with hundreds of bills. And then, Nakayama really _fainted._

Nathaniel looked at the unconscious manager. He quickly ignored the disturbing scene and wrapped his arm around the sleeping Sakuno's shoulder, "What he doesn't know is that there's only ten thousand in that briefcase." The European guy muttered.

Cheapskate.

Well… for wealthy families, ten thousand is TOTALLY cheap… for commoners, ten thousand **pounds **is far than ENOUGH.

Sakuno slowly opened her eyes. She stared at Nathaniel blankly and said, "So, you've finally arrive… Nathaniel-san."

The tennis players, who simultaneously ignore their customers, wondered what Sakuno meant. "_Is she expecting him to come? Is she excited or scared? Does she need protection, because… I'm here." _They thought in unison.

"Yep. You're prince is here." Nathaniel replied. Ryoma choked when he heard the word 'prince'.

For the players, their whole surrounding is quiet and only focused on Sakuno and Nathaniel's conversation. They imagined the situation like they were in a dark room, and Nathaniel and Sakuno on the spotlights. They are completely oblivious on what their customers are talking about. Once in a while, they make excuses on 'bringing something to eat' to their customers, when in fact, they just want to get closer to Sakuno, making it obvious for the foreign kid to know that they're there.

Nathaniel got irritated on the continuous walking in and out of Sakuno's self-proclaimed 'lovers' to the snack room in front of them and asked her if there is a private room. Sakuno nodded and pointed at a door, where only special customers can enter. She uncomfortably looked at the guy who was now taking her to the 'private room' in the host club, her heart beating faster every step.

They both entered the soundproof room.

Sakuno's self-proclaimed 'lovers' teleported from wherever they currently are to the door of the private room and stick their ears to the door to get a better 'audio' of their conversation. They were interrupted by Nakayama, though, "That room is soundproof. You won't be able to hear anything from the inside and outside."

The heard a clicking of the door, indicating that Nathaniel locked the door.

They quickly turned their heads to Marui. Their eyes are obviously saying, 'the key to this door!' Oh yeah, Marui is in charge of the keys of every room in the whole school for the day. Marui grabbed the keys in his pocket in slow motion. The other men eagerly waiting for him to finally get the key to the door. Their eyes are showing that they're impatient. Marui showed them the keys of every room in the whole school.

There were at least fifty keys tied together in a tennis racket keychain.

Atobe quickly grabbed the key from Marui's hand and looked for the label, 'Private Room, Host Club.'

Unfortunately, half of the keys weren't labeled properly.

They could only strangle Marui on that moment.

- - - - - - - - - - - - The Prince Of Tennis - - - - - - - - - - - - -

The only lights in that room are from those scented candles. There's a comfortable red couch in the middle and an expensive-looking coffee table. On the middle of the table are three scented candles positioned in a triangular shape.

"It's so quiet here…" Sakuno commented. She looks at Nathaniel who was already seated authoritatively in one corner of the lounge. She sat in the other corner of the lounge, a few inches away from him.

Silence…

More Silence…

"Aren't you supposed to entertain me? I paid ten thousand for you, didn't I?"

Sakuno looked at Nathaniel, who has his eyes currently closed and his head resting on his palm, "N-Nathaniel-san… c-can you-"

Nathaniel cut her words off by saying, "Just call me Nathan."

Sakuno's shoulders rose a bit and murmured, "Nathan…"

Unbeknownst to her, Nathan blushed and quickly covered it with his hand and looked at another direction.

"A-Anou… Nathan-kun… C-Can you please tell me something a little bit about your past?" She calmly asked while lowering her head down.

Expecting that question he asked, "Why do you want to know about my past?"

Sakuno looked at her sakura-patterned kimono, "Y-You see… I want to know… why Nathan-kun… is acting like that."

"What do you mean?" He asked with an arrogant expression.

"I think that," Sakuno looked directly into Nathan's eyes with a serious face, "Nathan-kun is a really gentle and kind person. I want to know why he does those insensitive things." Sakuno's shyness and stuttering suddenly went away.

Nathan suddenly felt nostalgic when she said those words.

He disregarded his previous feeling and smirked at Sakuno, "All right. I'll tell you. But on one condition…"

He puts out a piece of folded paper from his pocket and puts it on the coffee table. He unfolded a small part of the paper where it says, "Sign (blank)"

"I need you to sign here… Ryuzaki Sakuno." He said and pointed into the blank space.

Sakuno looked at the unfolded part of the paper and asked, "W-Why?"

"I just need an autograph."

Sakuno looked at him for a moment, "I-Is there something written else in that paper?"

"No," he instantly replied.

Sakuno grabbed a pen from the room and signed at the blank space, despite doubting what was written on that paper. After she signed it, she gave the paper back to Nathan and said, "I-I have already signed it. C-Can you please tell me something about your past now?"

Nathan took the paper away from Sakuno gently and puts it back on his pocket. He smirked and said, "Okay, a deal is a deal. I'll tell you."

Sakuno rested her back on the couch and prepared herself to listen.

"But you have to keep your questions and comments until I finish the whole story, okay? I'll start from the beginning."

F L A S H B A C K (Nathaniel's )

**London…**

_On the night of December 24__th__, Josephine Trenton gave birth to a healthy baby boy… me. Josephine was from an influential… not to mention_ glamorous _family, the Schaeffers. But she married a commoner, despite getting threats of disregarding her as a member of the family. After three months, my father got depressed… and ended up going home… stinking of alcohol… coming home from gambling… and losing every bet. One day… he just lost it. I guess the Schaeffer family has got something to do with whatever unlucky things that had happened to him. And because of that, Josephine left her husband and continued living as a Schaeffer. After that incident, she left me alone in the main mansion… having only our maids and butlers take care of me. My grandfather comes to see me once in a while… but I've never seen my mom until I was six years old._

"Six years old!?" Sakuno suddenly interrupted, "That's horrible!" "_And why is this story so familiar?" _Sakuno mentally added.

_Anyway, there was one time during the first six years of my life that Josephine called. She told me that I should be kind and gentle when interacting with my guardians. But I never did. I acted like the boss of them… because I really am. I irritate them, annoy them… give them nervous breakdowns… Only loyal and patient servants last when taking care of me. _

_I did the exact opposite thing of what my mother wants me to do._

_Simply because…_

_I hate her… so much. _

_I don't like the way she left me with our servants in the mansion. She just ran away because of her mistakes in her life. She just regretted marrying that commoner and left her son… embarrassed in seeing his face. I only found out about her life because of our gossiping maids. They laughed at her… on her back._

_Then I went to Japan, obeying my grandfather's order. Our mansion in Japan was smaller compared to the one in London. I lived there for three years. _

_And then on Christmas Eve… my sixth birthday… she went home, her face a complete wreck. She greeted me and kissed me on my forehead. She murmured, "You're beginning to look like your father." She was in Japan the whole time._

_I cursed the day she went home. I cursed my birthday. I cursed the person who gave me birth._

_After that day, she never went away. She just stays in her bed the whole day. One or two servants served her food three times a day and a doctor comes by once in a month. My grandfather told me that Josephine has leukemia. It's an incurable disease. I was forced to visit her once a day to keep her company. Every time I was in her room, she never uttered a word. She just smiles at me gently and stares outside the window. _

_After two years… the family organized a reunion. I get to meet my cousins and other family members I've never met before. Then a little girl, about the same age as me, got my attention. She was wearing a simple light pink dress with a small ribbon on the left strap. She was brought by her grandmother, who was good friends with my grandfather. The scary old hag asked me to play with her granddaughter for a while, while she and grandpa play tennis._

_The little girl looked at me innocently with her big brown eyes. She weakly pulled my sleeve and asked, "A-Anou… where's the bathroom?"_

_I laughed at her sentence. I lead her to the bathroom on the second floor… since there are too many people on the first floor. After she's done with her… thing, I told her that I'll bring her to my playroom… which is just around the corner. She timidly followed me but stopped when she noticed the door to Josephine's room. _

"_What's inside that door?" She asked while pointing at the white wooden door._

"_My mom's room." I replied nonchalantly._

_She smiled cutely and asked, "Can I see her?"_

_I sighed and opened the door for her. We were both met by a gentle smile from my mom. The little girl grinned in return. "Why aren't you with the other adults outside?" she asked innocently._

_I replied before Josephine could speak, "She's sick… she's dying soon."_

_Then, the girl started to cry. That was really unexpected…_

"_Miss Mom is going to die soon," she muttered between sobs, "that's so sad!"_

_Then, she ran away outside the mansion._

_Josephine and I were dumbfounded at that moment. She said, "Go after you friend."_

_For the first time in my life, I obeyed the person I hated the most._

_I found the girl crying in our flowerbed. I sat beside her and listened to her crying all afternoon. "I'm crying -sob- for you since you're –sob- strong. I'm weak –sob- and so I'll do the –sob- crying."_

"_Strong people cry, too." I replied._

"_You're –sob- wrong. I don't mean it that way. They are strong because they –sob- hold back. They do not let other people see them crying…" She said… and we were both silent until she went home._

_After that day, the little girl comes and visits me often. We play together and visit my mom together. Josephine wasn't quiet when that girl is around, unlike if we're alone. I know I disgust her… she doesn't have to rub it on my face. She disgusts me, too… so we're even._

_One day, when that girl came and we ended up in my room, she suddenly asked me, "Nathan-kun… do you love your mom?"_

"_No."_

"_Why?"_

"_Because she's weak," I answered without thinking._

"_Nathan-kun hates weak people?" she asked and was beginning to cry._

"_She's weak because she didn't face her problem."_

"_No." She said, now with a serious face._

_I looked at her, puzzled at first then asked her, "What do you mean?"_

"_Miss Mom is really strong! She's facing her problems now. She's holding her tears back every time she sees you. She can't utter a word because she knows that she'll cry. She needs to show you that she's strong… and she wants to apologize for running away from you, her problem." She replied._

_My eyes widened at her reply. I don't know what to say. Then, my brows narrowed, "What makes you so sure?" I asked a bit irritated._

"_I've seen it in her heart!" She said as if that's the most normal thing in the world to say. "And I've seen your heart, too, Nathan-kun! You scare and irritate people away but I know you are a kind and gentle person!"_

_The little girl lowered her head, "My dad died because of an accident. I loved him so much and I wanted to cry for the rest of my life. But my mom said that my dad's in a better place, watching over us. I remembered he used to say that I can judge other people accurately…" _

_That day passed normally after she said those words. That night, I visited Josephine I her room and still found her awake. I looked at her eyes and only saw gentleness in it. I said to her, "Oka-san… I despise you." My eyes were blank. Those were the first words I've said to her in my life._

_She only smiled and said, "Nathaniel-kun, I love you."_

_The next day, she died._

_The next scene I remembered is that I was standing in front of her grave, wearing black shirt and pants. It started to rain and every one went home. But for some reason I continued on standing in front of her grave, staring blankly at the stone with her name engraved on it._

_Then, the little girl approached me and shared her black umbrella with me. I didn't bother to look at her… I know she was crying._

_I muttered the little girl's name, "You're right…"_

"_My mom is strong."_

_My mom holds every thing back, not only her tears. She wanted to apologize and face her problem- her son. She faced it by saying those three words, despite hearing the _three words _that I said. She knew I hated her. And yet, didn't say a word. I have never seen her cry… and neither did she..._

_She was strong. And she must have thought that I was, as well._

_She was wrong… and the little girl was wrong, too. I was weak. I was really weak. I denied her… and that's what made me weak._

_I didn't cry when she died… not because I hated her._

_Not because I was 'strong' like she thought I was._

_I didn't cry because… I'm glad that she's in a better place… and I was inspired by her strength._

_Because of her strength… I promised myself… I'll be strong like her…_

_And… _

_I Love Her… so much._

_I regretted realizing it after she was gone._

E N D O F F L A S H B A C K (End of Nathan's P.O.V)

Nathan looked at Sakuno after he was done with his story, only to see her cry. Nathan smiled gently, "You're the little girl in my story, weren't you?"

Sakuno sniffed and replied, "Y-You already knew from the start?"

"I guess. The first time I saw you in that theater room, I knew you looked familiar. But your name says otherwise. Are you the little girl?"

Sakuno wiped the tears in her eyes, "Right… You're right… I was that little girl. I remembered that incident clearly."

"And after a year, I went back to London to train on becoming the new CEO of the Schaeffer group of companies."

Sakuno didn't speak for a while. "What's wrong?" Nathan asked.

"The first and last words that she heard from you are 'I despise you'? Why didn't you tell me that back then?" Sakuno shot up and yelled at Nathan.

Nathan couldn't think of any words to say. He just remained silent while staring at the scented candles in front of them.

"Mou, Nathan-kun! Have you apologized to her yet?" Sakuno pouted cutely.

Nathan looked at her with nervous eyes. He quickly stood up and went to the door, "Sa-chan, I'm going now. My time is up."

Sakuno's eyes widen and tried to stop him before he leaves, but she tripped over the coffee table and fell straight on the ground. Nathan just looked at her and he opened the door. When he opened the door, he saw the tennis players tying Marui on a chair with a rope.

"That's what you get for not labeling the keys properly!" Kirihara yelled and kicked Marui's chair.

Ryoma sighed and glanced at the private room. He saw Nathaniel coming out. He smirked and said, "You've finally came out."

The tennis players all shifted their head to Nathaniel's direction.

Nathaniel smirked arrogantly. He puts his hand on his pocket and started to walk away, but he was immediately stopped by the all-star tennis team. Nathaniel glared at them and they began to surround him, making sure he wouldn't get out. Ezekiel has no idea what was happening inside since he's patiently waiting outside the club.

Marui tore up the rope he was currently tied in with his strength and approached the group.

They were all silent. No one was willing to break the silence. Fuji's smile only meant trouble. Atobe's glare will surely scare thugs. And Kirihara was starting to transform into a devil.

The silence was broken when Sakuno bangs the door open. Since she tripped over the coffee table just a while ago, her hair is messed up, her hair tie is loosened… and her kimono is not properly place on her body anymore. The sakura-patterned kimono shows a bit of Sakuno's delicate skin. She looks like she was just harassed, "Nathan-kun, wait!"

The tennis players' bangs covered their eyes. Their body started to fire up (literally)… and somewhere in the room, a kettle whistled (4). "Na… tha… niel…" they all said in unison.

Sakuno looked at the heated tennis players and before they could hurt Nathaniel, she immediately grabbed, and hugged his arm. The tennis players' attack stopped and they all looked at Sakuno confusedly.

"P-Please don't hurt him," she said after she shut her eyes, "he's an important childhood friend, and I like him!"

Sakuno slowly began to open her eyes when she didn't hear any answer from the guys. She was shocked when she saw they were all turned into stone. She slowly turned her head to face Nathaniel but he was currently blushing and trembling.

"Nathan-kun?"

Hearing his name coming from Sakuno's mouth, he immediately ran outside and panted in front of Ezekiel. He bended his body and rests his arms on his knees while he was sweating continuously. Ezekiel could only wonder what happened inside.

Every customer in the host club wondered what happened, as well… and they were inside!

Sakuno sweat dropped and wondered why everyone was acting crazy. Suddenly, a figure appeared behind her, "Hime…"

Sakuno turned and looked at Atobe, who was looking at her blankly. He suddenly kneeled in front of her and pulled her closer to him. He buried his face on her chest and Sakuno was beginning to get dizzy because of the unexpected happenings that keep coming to her. "A-Atobe-san… what the-" she asked while her eyes are twirling while Atobe kept on holding her tighter.

"Hime… I'll buy you a time machine and changed the fact that Nathaniel's your childhood friend. And after that, we can live happily ever after." Atobe said in a crazy tone.

"W-What?" Sakuno's sweat dropped from her forehead, to her nose.

Finally, onii-sama has arrived. "Sakuno, tell me what happened here this instant!" Tezuka ordered in a scolding tone.

"Onii-sama…"

"Why are they turned into stone?" he looked at Atobe who was enjoying Sakuno's warm breasts. His glasses beamed and grabbed Atobe's shoulder, "What are you doing to her? Why does she look like she was just raped?" Tezuka's tone was starting to get colder and colder.

Atobe laughed insanely. All the other stoned tennis players' soul started to go away from their body. "_Please don't hurt him! He's an important childhood friend and I like him_!" Sakuno's voice continued to echo on the tennis players' head. And poor Atobe still couldn't believe that she said those words… and makes himself believe that she was referring to him.

Poor tennis players.

What they do not know is that Sakuno meant that she likes Nathaniel as a friend.

- - - - - - - - - - - - The Prince Of Tennis - - - - - - - - - - - - -

"K-Kaicho… w-what happened?" Ezekiel asked and hugged his bear tighter.

Nathaniel's blush only reddened when Ezekiel asked him that. He was really nervous but after calming himself down, he stood up like he wasn't acting weird a moment ago. He went back to his old, arrogant self and walked away. Ezekiel followed after him and stares at his president's pocket.

"Did you make Sakuno-san sign the contract?"

Nathan smirked, "Yeah, I did."

Ezekiel stepped one foot back, "Y-You mean she just agreed!? But… how'd you do it?"

"I'm drop-dead gorgeous. Isn't that enough reason for her?" he answered conceitedly.

What's that contract for?

* * *

A/N: I know this chapter is lame and boring… so please forgive me! I didn't mean it! Please forgive my wrong spellings and grammar. But at any rate, Please review!

(1) Courtesy of 'Ouran High School Host Club' .

(2) Courtesy of 'Kaicho wa maid sama'.

(3) It could translate to "Demon God"… or somewhere along those lines. Courtesy of 'Soul Eater'.

(4) This indicates the snapping of patience and anger will burst.

Added note: 'Trenton' is Josephine's commoner husband's last name.

DISCLAIMER APPLIES.

Special thanks to the following for reviews, faves and alerts: **kairi026**, **VampireBlood22**, **Maria-Reynne**, **mysweetkat**, **xname**, **patrengkee**, **SasoLOVE111**, **rebeccasanfujieijilvr**, **KuranPrincess**, **Tainted Silver Rose**, and **hanonmm**

Next time: Let's play tag… in the whole university! The prize is the signed contract of Ryuzaki Sakuno! What's in that contract, anyway? Find out in the next chapter. Please feel free to give ideas and suggestions for the upcoming chapters… since I'm kinda like in author's block mode now.


	16. The most important game

Chapter 16: The most important game

"Thank you for having me here," Sakuno said and bowed. She waved goodbye to Nakayama who was wiping his tears as he waved goodbye to his hostess, who just earned him a LOT of money. "Sakuno-chan, visit me soon. Don't forget about me!"

Sakuno smiled and left with Tezuka.

Nakayama's tears suddenly fade away when he turned to the stoned tennis players, and Atobe who was still hugging… no one. He was too shocked that he didn't notice that Sakuno already left.

"All of you will get zero points if you continue on playing around like that!" Nakayama scolded but was interrupted by fan girls, "Oh, they are so cute! They look like they have been dumped by an exceptional girl!"

One girl asked her friend to take a photo of her with the stoned Ootori.

And then, other girls followed as they take advantage of the bishounens' current state.

- - - - - - - - - - - - The Prince Of Tennis - - - - - - - - - - - - -

"Ryoga-san, have you noticed that Ryoma-san and his friends were suddenly missing?" Nanako asked as she drank her iced tea.

Ryoga looked bored at her and after sipping some of his orange juice, he looked around and saw no tennis players. He looked directly into Nanako's eyes and replied, "You're right. The insane kids suddenly disappeared. I wonder where they all went?"

Nanako looked worriedly at her drink. She thought out loud, "I hope Sakuno-san's okay, though."

"Don't worry about her! Chibisuke is with her, remember?" he grinned.

Then, a blonde guy interrupted them, "You're Echizen Ryoga, aren't you?"

Ryoga looked at the guy and he accidentally spilled his drink. The guy seated in an empty chair beside them, "Anyway, you two know me, right? I saw you guys earlier in the Legend of Zelda play."

"And what would a pervert like you wanted with us?" Ryoga wiped the spilled drink and rested his back on the chair.

Nanako looked at the blonde guy and narrowed her brows, "What you did to Sakuno-san is really rude. You should apologize to her, Schaeffer-san."

Nathan smirked and replied, "That was just my greeting. And we've already talked about it. She's fine now. Anyway," he removed a piece of paper from his pocket and slammed it on the glass table, "I was thinking of something fun that you may be interested in joining in, Ryoga-san."

Ryoga grabbed the folded paper and opened it. His eyes widened after he read what was in it. And his eyes widened even more when he saw Sakuno's signature. He looked bewildered at first but he suddenly grinned creepily, "So… what would you like me to do?"

Nathaniel grinned creepily, too.

- - - - - - - - - - - - The Prince Of Tennis - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Sakuno and Tezuka were both walking down the hallway when Sakuno stopped to look outside the glass window. Tezuka turned his head to his little sister and followed where her eyes are looking. He saw Ezekiel and Ryoga making a stage in a rush while Nanako and Nathan order them around. Eze and Ryoga were both just finished covering the backside of the stage with a curtain and they both grinned at Nathaniel.

"Good job, you two," Nathan complimented.

Nanako smiled sweetly and said, "I can't believe you two finished a whole stage in just five minutes!" She handed Ryoga a megaphone and said that they could commence their plan.

Ryoga cleared his throat and yelled at the megaphone, "Listen all V.I.P gamers! Gather up here in the tennis courts for some announcements about participating in a new game that Nathaniel-chan invented!"

Ryoga's broadcast was heard all throughout the University. Upon hearing Nathaniel's name, Sakuno's self-proclaimed lovers turned back from their stoned selves and looked at the tennis courts direction. They all saw a poorly-made stage standing in the middle of the court.

"If you're not here in five seconds, then I'll go get a priest and be a witness to Sakuno-chan and Nathaniel's marriage!" Ryoga added when he noticed that no one is coming.

Then, the earth started shaking. An earthquake, perhaps? No, it's just Sakuno's self-proclaimed lovers rushing to the courts. Tezuka swore that the Seigaku regulars never ran that fast during the times he wanted them to run laps. He got to take note of that and make sure they ran thrice as fast by using such threats.

"WE'RE HERE!" They all yelled in unison.

On the other hand, the sane tennis players calmly entered the courts. In another few minutes, all the V.I.P gamers arrived.

"All right! Now that we're all here, let me first announce that this game will be considered a primary obligation for all V.I.P gamers. This game will greatly affect your overall score and judging of the winners by the end of the day. That's why everyone is obliged to join." Ryoga announced.

"What's this game about?" Shishido suddenly spoke up.

Ryoga grinned, "Well, let's just say this will be a tag game. You will all play tag in the whole university as the venue."

"This game should be called tag of war… pfft." Amane suddenly joked, which earned him a kick from Kurobane.

Ryoma crossed his arms behind his head and sighed.

"But this will be a different kind of tag. The 'it' is the winner in this game. I'll give a 20-minute time limit for the game. Whoever is the last 'it' will be the winner. And don't complain about permission from the Rikkaidai faculty because Nathaniel-chan already asked for permission in making this game for the V.I.P gamers."

"I don't see the point in all of this," Kaidoh exclaimed.

"Hn. For those who don't care about Sakuno-chan, you'll never be able to see the point in this game. But for those who do," Ryoga showed all the tennis players a piece of paper. "You'll totally see the advantage of this game." Everyone knows that Ryoga is grinning behind that serious face he's showing.

"What's that paper for?" Eiji asked while sticking his head out from Oishi's back.

Sakuno suddenly paled.

"It's an engagement contract! And guess what, Sakuno-chan already signed it!"

Everyone gulped, including Sakuno.

Tezuka was now scolding Sakuno mentally.

"Whoever wins this game will get this contract as a prize…" Ryoga whispered in the megaphone, "and whoever wins can sign the other blank space."

Everyone's eyes changed and looked violently at Ryoga.

"And you guys have to thank Nathaniel-chan for making Sakuno-chan sign the contract! That's why even though he's not a gamer, we'll still let him join this game." Ryoga added.

Nathan smirked.

"And there will be only one rule: No rules! You can use whatever you want while playing."

Atobe smirked this time.

Nanako snatched the megaphone away from Ryoga and said, "And of course, since this tag game will be held in the whole university, we won't be able to tell who's 'it'. That's why, whoever is 'it' have to carry this tennis ball around," Nanako showed them a tennis ball with Ryoma's chibi face drawn on it.

Tomoka's eyes widen. "S-Sakuno! Isn't that the tennis ball we bought!?"

Ryoga snatched the tennis ball from Nanako's hand and threw it over to Sakuno, "Here you go, Sakuno-chan, it's your tennis ball anyway."

Sakuno safely caught the ball and looked at the drawing of Ryoma's face on it. "T-This is mine…"

"LET THE TAG GAME BEGIN!" Ryoga suddenly yelled.

Everyone dramatically turned their heads to Sakuno's direction. Sakuno has the ball now, which means…

"Oh yeah, Sakuno-chan's 'it'." Ryoga added.

"W-WHAT!?" Sakuno held the ball closer to her chest and trembled. She expected that everyone will ran to her and violently grab the ball from her, leaving her unconscious on the ground to decay. But no one moved a muscle. Everyone is just looking at her. She was totally confused at that moment, until Tezuka touched her, which means he's now 'it'.

"Give me the ball, Sakuno. I'm 'it'." Tezuka calmly looked into Sakuno's eyes.

Sakuno blushed and handed the ball to Tezuka, while shaking. "Don't worry, I'll protect you," Tezuka added as he looked at Sakuno compassionately. As soon as he took the tennis ball, he ran as quickly as he can. And the other gamers dashed after him.

Sakuno thought she was going to get ran over but every men carefully avoided running into her. After making sure that they passed Sakuno with no harm done, they quickly ran after Tezuka leaving smoke behind.

"This is bad… Tezuka-buchou will surely get massacred." Horio commented.

"Eh!" Sakuno turned to Horio with teary eyes.

Tomo smacked Horio in the head and commanded him to take back what he said. Horio just massaged his head and apologized to Sakuno. Tomo disregarded the previous conversation and grabbed Sakuno's wrist and pulled her towards where Tezuka and the others ran.

"Sakuno, we should at least be updated on who's currently 'it' by this moment!" Tomo said while the two kept running.

Back in the tennis courts, there were a few men who didn't run after Tezuka. They don't care that much and just decided to play a little tennis with each other to pass time.

Tezuka ran into a corner and into an area with lots of trees around. He had to dodge a few passerbies since they are playing tag in the whole university while a festival was in order. Same goes for the others who are trying to catch up to him.

"Be awed by the pace of my running," Atobe said as he ran inches away from Tezuka.

Tezuka just mentally rolled his eyes and increased the speed of his running. As he was going straight towards a tree, Ryoma suddenly appeared behind it. His ambush surprised Tezuka and he failed to dodge Ryoma's pat on his arm. "Tag, I'm it." Ryoma mumbled.

Tezuka's brows narrowed and gave the tennis ball to Ryoma. The other tennis players ran after Ryoma now. Tezuka massaged his temple and noticed that Tomoka and Sakuno are running towards him. The two stopped running when they reached Tezuka.

"T-Tezuka-buchou, you were tagged already?" Tomo said while panting.

"Onii-sama…" Sakuno called.

Tezuka sat in a bench and started to think deeply. Sakuno and Tomo looked at each other and wondered what he was thinking. Sakuno carefully approached her brother and looked worriedly at him.

"W-What's wrong?" Sakuno asked.

"Tezuka opened his eyes and looked gently into Sakuno's eyes. He gently placed his hand on her cheek and twinkling stars suddenly surrounded them.

Tomo blushed at the scene and nosebleed. At that moment, Kin-chan arrived (he didn't ran after Tezuka that time). He looked at Tomo who was now nose bleeding and turned his head to the source of her enjoyment. He stared at Sakuno and Tezuka's _incest _figure and blushed.

Tezuka leaned closer to Sakuno's face. Sakuno wasn't blushing this moment since she has pure thoughts. "Sorry. I was weak." Tezuka gently said.

"Onii-sama… no… please don't say that… you did your best," Sakuno softly placed her hands on Tezuka's chest.

Tezuka put his thumb on her lips and kissed his thumb, making it look like they were kissing lips to lips from a distance. Kin-chan and Tomo nosebleed even more. Tezuka embraced Sakuno tightly and caressed her back. After that, he kissed her left eye and smiled, "I'll be going now."

Sakuno tightened her grip on Tezuka's shirt, "Do you have to go so soon? Don't. Please… don't. Onii-sama…" Tomoka and Kin-chan felt like fainting due to blood loss.

Tezuka closed his eyes and touched Sakuno's shoulder, "I have to go now. I won't let Echizen take you away from me." He stood up and licked Sakuno's neck- that part is Kin-chan and Tomo's imagination.

"But… you might get hurt!" Sakuno tried to stop him once more but Tezuka only kissed her nose and started running towards where Ryoma passed to. But not before whispering softly to her, "Onii-sama won't let anything stand against us. I'll get the engagement contract for you."

Sakuno worriedly stares at Tezuka's disappearing figure. Meanwhile, Kin-chan and Tomo's heart felt like bursting. They are now both kneeling on the ground, suffering from blood loss. "T-That was my first time seeing an incest relation in real life!" Kin-chan said while panting. Tomo nodded her head continuously, "Y-Yeah… me too! But they aren't really siblings by blood… but it's still YEAH!"

Sakuno altered her attention from Tezuka to the nose bleeding pair of Kintarou and Tomoka. "A-Are you okay, you two?" Sakuno worriedly asked.

Kin-chan and Tomo tilted their heads upward to look at Sakuno and nodded. "We're fine!" they both said in unison, "just having an otaku symptom!"

Sakuno pouted cutely, "Mou… an otaku thing again!"

Suddenly, Kin-chan stood up and said, "Anyway Sa-chan, looks like Koshimae is now leading. But I doubt that would last long. Kikumaru-san knows how to capture him!"

Tomo and Sakuno agreed.

Kin-chan grinned and said, "I know! Why don't I help you win this game instead? I'll make sure that you'll get the ball just in time before the end of the game!"

Sakuno couldn't agree more but there is one thing, "B-But, how are you going to do that?"

Kin-chan made a V-sign and smiled cutely at her, "Simple! I'll let you ride on my back since you can't really run that fast. And you can tag whoever is 'it' so that you'll be 'it' and win the game in the end!"

Sakuno opened her mouth and made an 'o' sign and nodded, "O-Okay."

And in a split-second, Kin-chan gave Sakuno a piggyback ride. Tomo only stared at their figure and glared at Kin-chan, "Don't you dare do something bad to Sakuno, you hear?" She leaned closer to Kin-chan and whispered, "Or else I'll be the one executing Fuji-senpai's torturing ways on you!"

Kin-chan paled and stared at Tomo who was now pretending that she didn't say anything while patting Sakuno's head and giving her encouragement. Without further ado, Kin-chan ran towards the other tennis players' direction.

- - - - - - - - - - - - The Prince Of Tennis - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Ryoma ran so fast he unbelievably managed to hide from the players who are trying to run after him. He sat down under a tree to rest for a while. He looked at the tennis ball he's holding and turned it so that the drawing would face him. He clearly remembered this ball. Because of this little round thing, he became Sakuno's hero for the day. He reminisced about that time when he was tricked by Nanjiroh to coach Tomoka and Sakuno tennis and ended up beating the crap out of those who bullied Sakuno. That girl sure does lack backbone. Sometimes it's annoying. But that's why he's there… to save her from troubles.

"If you're playing tag, and you're 'it', you should never stop running, Echizen," Fuji suddenly appeared behind the other side of the tree and interrupted Ryoma's thoughts.

Ryoma's eyes widen and he quickly tried to stand up and ran away but he was too late. He was cornered immediately by Fuji and touched his head. "Echizen-kun, I'm 'it'."

Ryoma irritatingly gave the tennis ball to Fuji and tried to run after him and get the ball back but he accidentally bumped into one of his annoying senpai's chest. He looked up and saw it was Kikumaru. "Move," Ryoma glared at him.

"Sorry, O'chibi, but we're on Fujiko's side today!" Kikumaru forced a smile.

"Why are you looking at us like that? You should learn how to respect your senpai-tachi!" Momo added, who came out from nowhere.

Ryoma groaned and pushed Eiji and Momo out of his way. The two older Seigaku regular could only stare at his disappearing figure.

After a while, Eiji and Momo grinned and slapped their hands together. "This is really interesting! First it's Echizen and now Fuji-senpai added!" Momo snickered.

"Nya, interesting indeed, Momo-chin!" Kikumaru jumped.

"Ii data…" Inui appeared from nowhere. His appearance shocked the other two regulars. Inui has the tendency to appear like that without anyone noticing.

- - - - - - - - - - - - The Prince Of Tennis - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Meanwhile, Kin-chan and Sakuno opened another room inside Rikkaidai's main building. "Looks like no one's here either, Sakuno-chan."

Sakuno just nodded.

That's what you get for putting two direction-retarded people together without anyone accompanying them.

- - - - - - - - - - - - The Prince Of Tennis - - - - - - - - - - - - -

The other tennis players got lost while they were still trying to catch Echizen and now they're wandering around the university.

Fuji lost Echizen on his way to the swimming pool and he now calmly wandered around the gymnasium. No one knows he's 'it' anyway. And if Echizen finds him, then he'll just say that he's not 'it' anymore.

"Fuji-san," a familiar voice said, "tag, I'm it." He said and touched Fuji's back.

Fuji turned to look at him and smiled. He gently gave the tennis ball to him and seconds after doing so, he used his judo skills and flipped him. This action surprised Nathaniel and he failed to dodge Fuji's sudden attack. He lied on the ground and stares surprisingly at Fuji. Fuji opened his eyes and smirked, "Tag-back. I'm 'it' again."

Kirihara turned into a corner and saw Nathaniel lying on the ground while Fuji is stepping on his stomach. Kirihara noticed that the two were talking and took the opportunity to tag Fuji and get the ball. Fuji and Nathaniel stared shockingly at Kirihara's sudden movement but they couldn't move to catch him since he ran away too fast.

"Oh my, looks like I'm not 'it' anymore. Too bad," Fuji said while smiling charmingly.

Nathaniel narrowed his brows and stood up, brushing away some dirt that got on his shirt, namely Fuji's shoe. "You didn't have to step on me you know."

Fuji just giggled. Then, he suddenly changed his expression, "What are you truly planning? Why are you just giving away that engagement contract that Sakuno-chan signed?"

"Whatever do you mean?" Nathaniel acted like he doesn't know anything about it.

"Knowing you, you should have already signed that contract and make her engaged to you in an instant. But you did not. So that means you're planning something else." Fuji rested his back on the tree and crossed his arms.

"Maybe I am. Who knows?"

- - - - - - - - - - - - The Prince Of Tennis - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Kirihara ran inside the University's main building. He quickly ran around the corridors, hoping that no V.I.P gamer will know where he is. Unfortunately, he was cornered by a smirking Atobe.

"Game over for you, Kirihara." Atobe said while Kabaji stood quietly behind him.

"Heh! You're not 'it' yet. You haven't tagged me yet, baka!" Kirihara mocked.

Atobe just smirked as his reply and snapped his fingers. In an instant, Kabaji carried Kirihara by his collar. "Looks like Kabaji is now 'it'."

Kirihara glared at Atobe, "So you're going to use Kabaji to cheat your way onto winning?"

"Cheating is not the word, akuma. It's helping. Kabaji is helping me, that's all." Atobe answered.

"You are a cheater! You're going to use his strength so that no one will get the ball but you." Kirihara tried to free himself from Kabaji's hold.

"THERE'S THE BALL! KABAJI'S IT!" The two heard a person yelled, and turned to look at him only to reveal that it was Ootori. And suddenly, other V.I.P gamers arrived, specifically Kikumaru, Jirou, Marui, and Yukimura.

"_I'll have to use that contract to save O'chibi's girlfriend, nya!" _Kikumaru thought.

"_Don't worry, Sakuno-san. I won't let anyone else marry you," _Yukimura thought.

"_I'll have Sakuno-chan sleep with me everyday after I get that contract," _Jirou thought, while fighting his sleepy eyes.

"_Hn. Desperate people arrived," _Kirihara thought while looking at them.

"_Sa-chan's already my wife. That Nathaniel… I'm going to kill him after I get that contract,"_ Marui thought and glared Atobe.

"Che." Atobe snapped his fingers again and Kabaji puts down Kirihara on the ground.

"Only 2 minutes left, gamers!" They heard Ryoga announced through his megaphone.

"Kabaji, just stay in a corner over there. Don't let anyone touch you. I'll deal with them instead," Atobe ordered. Kabaji just muttered a weak 'osu' and walked slightly away from them.

Atobe stood in front of the newly arrived V.I.P gamers and held out his racket. "Ore-sama no bigi ni yoi na(1)"

Atobe's butler suddenly teleported beside him and gave Atobe dozens of containers filled with tennis balls. Atobe served all the balls he could get in relentless speed.

Ootori wasn't surprised at his captain's action. This definitely is something the self-centered diva would do. That's why he came prepared, in case he has to deal with him. He took his tennis racket from his bag and started returning the tennis balls he encounters. Of course, he's not the only one prepared. He noticed that Kirihara, Kikumaru, Jirou, and Yukimura were all holding their rackets and returning Atobe's serve.

Ootori mentally sighed.

"30 seconds more!" Ryoga announced.

Atobe groaned and threw his racket away and ran towards Kabaji, "Kabaji, tag me!"

"Osu," Kabaji stared running towards Atobe.

Yukimura and the others glared at Atobe, who was now running towards Kabaji. Marui popped his bubble gum and jumped towards Atobe. He landed on Atobe's back and they fell on the ground. "I won't let you be engaged with my wife!" Marui said as he stood up and ran towards Kabaji.

"10 seconds left!"

Atobe quickly stood up and ran past Marui. In desperate attempt, Marui grabbed Atobe's foot, and Yukimura grabbed Atobe's other foot, and Ootori and Kikumaru both grabbed Yukimura's leg. Only Jirou and Kirihara were left standing. Kirihara looked at Jirou who smirked at him and quickly run towards Kabaji.

"I'll win this!" Jirou yelled. He suddenly got excited and stretched his arms to Kabaji.

5…

Atobe, who was now lying on the ground glared at Jirou and crawled desperately to get ahead of him. But Marui, Yukimura, Ootori and Kikumaru's weight are one big obstacle for him.

4…

Kirihara stepped on the lying tennis players head and tried to catch up to Jirou.

3…

The lying tennis players can't let go of whoever leg they are currently grabbing because Atobe would surely run ahead of them.

2…

Atobe used his full strength to pull his feet from Marui and Yukimura's grip and ran quickly towards Jirou and Kirihara. Kirihara and Jirou stretched their arms towards Kabaji…

1…

Kabaji stretched his arms to Atobe who was now running side by side with Kirihara and Jirou…

GAME OVER

"ALL RIGHT! WE HAVE A WINNER!" Ryoga yelled, still holding his megaphone on his hand.

- - - - - - - - - - - - The Prince Of Tennis - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Kin-chan walked towards the window of the room they got lost in. He looked outside and saw the tennis courts and the stage that was built by Ryoga and Ezekiel just a while ago. He was still carrying Sakuno on his back. "Sa-chan… the game is going to end soon… what are we going to do?"

Sakuno lowered her head and sighed, "I-I'm sure that Onii-sama has already gotten the ball."

Kin-chan also sighed and walked towards the door of the classroom to search for more gamers but he accidentally tripped over the platform in the front of the class and fell down, along with Sakuno.

He struggled to get up and apologize to Sakuno but he blushed when he realized he was lying on top of the girl. His face was one inch away from her. Sakuno's eyes widen as she stares at Kin-chan.

"A-Anou… Kin-chan…"

Kintarou didn't move from his position and just kept on staring at the girl he was lying onto. He can't take this anymore. The girl he was in love with is just inches away from him, waiting for his next actions. His heart beats faster every second. His wide eyes turned into passionate ones and he slowly leaned towards her, brushing his lips with her. He knows he loves her more than anyone else in the world.

After breaking the kiss, he kept on staring at Sakuno's eyes with his passionate ones but after realizing what he has done, and looking at Sakuno's shocked expression, he quickly stood up and bowed in front of her.

Sakuno just slowly sat up, her whole face tinted red.

"I-I'M SORRY SA-CHAN! I was just distracted... I wasn't thinking straight! P-Please forgive me!" Kin-chan apologized and kept on bowing in front of her.

Sakuno lifted her hand on her chest. "I-It's okay…" she murmured.

Kintarou's expression changed and heaved a sigh of relief. He weakly sat down in front of her and blushed, looking everywhere but her eyes.

Sakuno, still dense as ever, wondered why Kin-chan kissed her. Then, a light bulb appeared on top of her head, "I-I finally understand now!"

Kin-chan got the courage to look at her eyes and wondered why she suddenly said such things.

"Kin-chan, were you just thinking of the person you like? And thought it was me?" Sakuno leaned closer to Kintarou, making him blush even more.

Idiot. Sakuno, you're the one Kin-chan is in love with!

Kin-chan only sighed and looked at her. He's going to do it! It's now or never… well, he could still confess to her some other day but it's rare to get a chance to be with her alone. So he has to do it, right here and now!

GO KIN-CHAN!

He stretched his arm to her. He looked at the ground while blushing, "S-Sa-chan… w-would you… l-like to g-go out with me sometime?"

"Sure," Sakuno instantly replied, "Let's go out already. It's really cold in this room."

Kin-chan tensed and looked at Sakuno's innocent eyes. He leaned closer to her, "N-NO! Not going out like just going out in this room! Going out like… uhm… a date?"

Sakuno smiled and said, "Oh I see. You want me to teach you some tips about dating! Of course I would help you. If you go on a date with me, you'll have enough experience when taking out the girl you like."

Kintarou head involuntarily went down.

Sakuno looked at Kintarou confusedly.

Kintarou suddenly stood up and looked straight into Sakuno's eyes. "YOU'RE THE GIRL I LIKE. I'M CONFESSING TO YOU, DARN IT!"

Sakuno sweat dropped. "O-Oh…" Her blush now turning redder and redder.

"WH-WHAT DO YOU SAY?" Kin-chan shut his eyes tight.

Sakuno blushed and stood up to face Kintarou, "G-Gomen… but…"

Rejection?

"M-My father said I'm not allowed to have a boyfriend until I'm sixteen," Sakuno forced a laugh and weakly placed her hand on the back of her head.

So… it's not rejection?

"A-And… thank you… for having those feelings for me. I really appreciate it," Sakuno added.

Kin-chan didn't move. After five seconds he hugged Sakuno tightly and cried tears of joy, "T-That still means you didn't reject me right? Oh, I AM SO HAPPY!" He started twirling around, making Sakuno dizzy.

"GAME OVER! WE HAVE A WINNER!" The two suddenly heard Ryoga announced.

Kin-chan suddenly looked at Sakuno worriedly. "I wonder who won?"

- - - - - - - - - - - - The Prince Of Tennis - - - - - - - - - - - - -

"And the winner is…" Ryoga gathered all the V.I.P gamers back to the courts and announced who the winner is. He raised the hand of the winner, "None other than MUNEHIRO KABAJI!"

Everyone twitched.

Sakuno fainted but Kin-chan safely caught her.

During that time, neither Jirou, nor Kirihara nor Atobe got in time to touch Kabaji. They all managed to tag him simultaneously _after _the time limit.

Atobe suddenly smirked, "Whatever. Kabaji is still going to give me that contract anyway, right, Kabaji?"

Kabaji didn't reply. He took the contract from Ryoga's hand and stared at it.

"What are you waiting for Kabaji? Give that to ore-sama." He reached his hand to Kabaji, waiting for him to place the contract in his hand.

"No," Kabaji's first word other than 'osu'.

All of the Hyotei regulars stared shockingly at Kabaji. For once in Kabaji's life, he disobeyed Atobe. Is this the end of the world?

Kabaji went down the stage and stood in front of Kin-chan, who's trying to wake Sakuno up.

Sakuno slowly opened her eyes and looked innocently at Kabaji. Kabaji suddenly tore the contract in half in front of her. Everyone's eyes widen at Kabaji's actions. With that, Sakuno stood up gently held Kabaji's rough hand, "A-Anou… Kabaji-san… th-thank you so much!" she said and smiled sweetly.

There was a slight hint of pink that formed on Kabaji's cheek. "Osu," he replied and walked towards Atobe. Atobe glared at him at first but sighed and said, "I'll forgive you. But only because I know that someday, she will be mine. I'll surely take her away from Tezuka someday."

"Right, Kabaji?" Atobe added.

"Osu."

Ezekiel admired Atobe for forgiving Kabaji just like that. And Kabaji inspired him a lot. He reminds him of himself when he's around the self-centered Nathaniel.

Nathaniel was watching the announcement of the winner in the back of the crowd with Fuji. He sighed and said, "After all that I've been through, he just tore it in half. That's so unfair."

Fuji smiled at him, "Saa… that's what you get for not telling me your plans."

"My plan? To tell you the truth… I just wanted to have fun with your fellow tennis players. And besides… that contract is not real. The signature isn't real, either."

Fuji opened his eyes and finally begins to understand what he's planning.

"The real contract is already hidden away from anyone. Only I know where it is. And after I sign it, Sakuno-chan and I will be officially engaged."

Fuji smiled sadistically at Nathaniel. He's so going to execute his torturing skills on him without a doubt. Just you wait.

* * *

A/N: What do you think? Sorry for another lame chapter. Sorry for disappointng you gouys out there... And sorry for the wrong spelling and grammar, because I have a tendency not to proofread my chapters XD. Please review!

(1) "Be awed at the sight of my prowess."

DISCLAIMER APPLIES

I owe it all to the ff. reviewers: **Tainted Silver Rose**, **SasoLOVE111**, **Maria-Reynne**, **yi-chan**, **VampyBlood24**, **xname**, **rebeccasanfujieijilvr**, **Arisato Aigis**, and **patrengkee**

Next time: Because of her clumsiness, Sakuno got herself unconscious inside the infirmary. And guess who's with her inside that room!? Find out in the next chapter! Keep those ideas coming!


	17. That Moment with Her

That moment with her

The Junior Ace of Rikkaidai went to an empty classroom and sat in a random table he found. He tilted his head sideways, and looked at the blue sky outside the room. He kept on thinking of her; on how he couldn't protect that engagement contract from Atobe and Kabaji. He was well-known as a violent tennis player who specializes in defeating left-handed players. And surely, he'll become the next captain of the tennis team after his seniors graduate. But this girl suddenly showed up and took his heart. She was a thief. How was he supposed to concentrate on tennis now?

"The angel that will change the devil within me…" he muttered while resting his chin on the palm of his hand. He suddenly found himself staring at a person whom he was just thinking. "Sakuno-chan…"

Sakuno was currently lost. After the tag game, everyone else went back to their own games, but she on the other hand, was confused and doesn't know what to do. She stared at her card with deep concentration and sighed, "I don't know where the archery game is…"

Sakuno started walking fast while still looking at her card and didn't notice that she was about to hit a wall. Kirihara's eyes widened as he was about to yell at her to get her attention but he was too late. The clumsy maiden bumped her head on the concrete wall and was now lying on the ground, eyes twirling comically.

"Ah…" was all Kirihara could say after what he saw. He quickly went outside the building and run towards the unconscious Sakuno.

"S-Saku-chan! W-Wake up! Oi!" he said while shaking Sakuno's shoulder. Her eyes opened but dropped her head after a few seconds. "S-She fainted!"

---\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/KIRIHARA\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\AKAYA\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/---

Kirihara Akaya was surely one lucky guy to see a dazzling beauty sleeping innocently in front of him. Her head was covered in bandages due to her earlier mishap. But what made him even luckier was the fact that no one knows where she is right now, which means that his other rivals will not disturb their peaceful state. The nurse in-charged of the infirmary left after giving Sakuno some medical assistance. The two of them are now completely alone.

Kirihara roamed the infirmary to look for something to read, or something to distract himself from looking at his angel with dirty thoughts. The two of them are _alone _after all. Add the fact that she's lying on a white bed, unconscious. If he was another guy, he'll definitely harass her. But no, Kirihara Akaya is definitely a gentleman. And he was perfectly fine staying with her alone in this deserted room.

Sakuno moaned a little which made Kirihara shivered. He nervously turned his head to look at her and sighed upon seeing her still asleep.

"_K-Kirihara-san…" _Sakuno moaned again.

Kirihara's body literally changed its color into red (and nope, he didn't transform into a devil) and made him stood still in his spot. Is this girl begging him to do something bad to her? Why is she moaning his name in her sleep?

His hand was trembling as he tried to grab a Pro Tennis Magazine monthly in the shelf near the nurse's table. He randomly turned the pages and ended up in a page where they featured Rikkaidai's lost in the Nationals against Seigaku. Miss Shiba, the magazine's photographer and editor, took a shot of the audience and saw Sakuno among them, smiling at Seigaku's win.

That's right. Ryuzaki Sakuno is on their enemy's side.

Kirihara could only sigh. But after a few seconds, realization hit his head. She maybe Seigaku's cheerleader but that's only during tennis matches. And as far as he knows, the Nationals have already ended and this is event has nothing to do with tennis whatsoever.

Which means there are no enemies or allies today.

He looked at Sakuno's sleeping figure and stared at her for a while. He suddenly noticed that her fingers started twitching, which means that Sakuno is about to wake up. And she did. She sat up while rubbing her aching forehead. Her eyes were half-opened and her back is crouched. She weakly turned her head and saw Kirihara.

"K-Kirihara-san? What are you doing here?" Sakuno weakly asked.

Kirihara sat in a chair near her bed and rested his arms on the chair's backrest, "I rescued you."

Sakuno smiled and blushed, "I-Is that so? I-I'm sorry for the trouble…"

Kirihara smiled back and closed his eyes, "its okay."

Indeed, Kirihara Akaya is fine with saving her. He felt like there was someone who actually depends on him whenever needed. He never felt like this towards a girl before. It feels so… tranquil, for some reason. He smirked mentally when he thought that Sakuno couldn't live without him.

Sakuno looked at Kirihara and was wondering what he was thinking about. His eyes are closed for a while now. She suddenly hit her fist gently onto the palms of her hand when she thought that Kirihara was sleepy.

"A-Anou… Kirihara-san… you could lie down on this bed if you want."

Those words meant something if you put them together. Sakuno made a huge mistake and didn't even realize it. Those words, if put together in a sentence and in front of a guy who likes you, will get you into some trouble.

Kirihara's mind suddenly went blank, as if he was possessed by an evil spirit. His bangs covered his eyes and his evil smirk was visible. He took those words as a permission to do _it._

Kirihara rapidly stood up, which made the chair fall down. He took one step closer to the bed and leaned closer to a confused Sakuno. "W-What's the matter?"

"I'll lay down now." With that, Kirihara pinned Sakuno on the bed and lied on top of her, leaving the latter blush furiously. He rested his head on her small, delicate shoulder.

Sakuno's eyes widened and pushed Kirihara away from her with all her strength (not that strong for Kirihara, though) which made Kirihara sat on top of her.

---\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/KIRIHARA\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\AKAYA\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/---

"_Oh…"_

"_Kirihara-san… stay still…"_

"_B-Be gentle… Sakuno-chan…"_

"_I'll try my best…"_

"_Put it in _there…"

"_Oh… that's the one…"_

"_I-It hurts!"_

This whole time… Kikumaru Eiji heard the two conversing. He saw Sakuno bumped her head on the concrete wall earlier and tried to help her, but Kirihara beats him to it. He watched him as he carried Sakuno to the infirmary, and after the nurse healed Sakuno's bump on her head, she left, leaving Kirihara and Sakuno alone.

But their conversation started when Sakuno asked Kirihara to lie down next to her and after that, he heard broken pieces of glass, and moaning… lots and lots of moaning. Kikumaru knows he's as red as a tomato but he can't just go inside and interrupt the two… Who knows what he may see there? And he definitely had an idea what he might see there…

But how about O'chibi's girlfriend?

Is O'chibi's girlfriend cheating on him?

Technically, though, the two aren't together… But on Kikumaru's side, they'll someday get together and live happily ever after. But how was he supposed to live to that fantasy when he's currently stuck in this position, knowing things that he should not? As he looked at his side, he knows hell loved to torture him. He remained still in his position, getting nervous by every step the two newly-arrived people are making. Here comes the girl's big brother, and Seigaku's little brother; Tezuka and Echizen.

Tezuka and Ryoma stopped as they were five feet away from Kikumaru, who was faking a smile, and sweating continuously.

"What are you doing there, Kikumaru-senpai?" the smallest one asked.

Kikumaru laughed nervously and never left his spot next to the infirmary's door. "N-NOTHING! D-DEFINITELY NOTHING! WHY DID YOU ASK?"

Ryoma narrowed his eyes. He knows that his senpai is hiding something from him.

"Speak up, Kikumaru." Seigaku's strict captain ordered.

"S-Speak up? W-What do you mean? J-Just go ahead and do whatever O'chibis and captains do when they were supposed to be oblivious to what is happening inside this room!" Kikumaru spoke too fast and was trembling by every word.

"Inside the room?" Tezuka repeated.

"What's inside that room?"

Tezuka was about to grab the doorknob when Kikumaru abruptly covered the door from his grasp, "N-Nothing! Why would something be happening inside the infirmary? Probably just some guy having sex with Saku-chan… hahaha…" Kikumaru didn't notice what he said.

Just as _that word _left Kikumaru's mouth, Tezuka and Ryoma twitched.

The world stopped for the once clueless guys. Their backgrounds changed and turned into something that's even scarier than Inui's juices. The two suddenly grew bigger and their eyes were covered with shadows. Kikumaru felt like he was getting smaller and smaller as the two were growing bigger and bigger…

"Don't stand in my way," Tezuka and Echizen said in unison, their voice getting colder and colder every word.

---\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/KIRIHARA\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\AKAYA\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/---

"I'm sorry, Kirihara-san… I didn't mean for this to happen…" Sakuno said, worried plastered all over her face.

"Don't apologize… It's my fault anyway." Kirihara weakly laughed.

"But still… those broken glasses were not supposed to injure you if I hadn't pushed you away…"

"Hehe… well… I was being a pervert and you have the right to do that to me, Sakuno-chan…"

Sakuno smiled a little. At first, she was scared at what Kirihara was doing to her but she immediately forgave him when she accidentally pushed him towards the table with empty beakers and test tubes resting on it. Some of the shattered glasses got into Kirihara's arms and back, and she was now giving her medical assistance.

"You should learn your lesson and never put those words together in the same sentence again…" Kirihara said while pointing his index finger upwards.

"I-I really do not understand men…" Sakuno said and sighed. She grabbed another bandage and covered Kirihara's wound with it.

"O-OW!"

"'You could lie down on this bed if you want,' how can those words be dangerous for a girl?" Sakuno asked.

"W-Well… just some… There are…" Kirihara couldn't explain it to her properly. Especially if the person you're going to explain it too is pure and innocent. Just by the word _bed _could make a guy's hormone… well… all… what's the word?

"K-Kirihara-san?"

Kirihara snapped from his thoughts and looked at Sakuno's innocent face. He sighed for the umpteenth time today and lied down on the bed they were currently sitting on. "Sakuno-chan… my head hurts…"

Sakuno locked her gaze on Kirihara's head and pouted cutely when she noticed that there is no blood dripping from it, "You're lying…"

"My head really hurts." He imitated the look of a person who's struggling in pain.

"Kiss it away…"

Sakuno fell off the bed and blushed furiously, surprised at his sudden words. "K-Kiss!"

"My grandma used to kiss the pain away from my body…"

"B-But I-I a-am n-not your g-grandma…"

Kirihara suddenly sat up and looked at Sakuno, who was now sitting on the floor and rubbing her aching forehead. "Fine then. I'll kiss the pain from your forehead away." He gently kneeled down in front of her and kissed her on the forehead.

Sakuno is now the master of blushing furiously. After he broke his kiss, Sakuno moved backwards, a little away from Kirihara and held her mouth. She tried fighting the blush away but it just kept getting redder and redder.

Kirihara smirked. "What? You're mouth hurts, too? I'll kiss it away if you want…"

With a huge amount of force, he removed the hand that was covering her mouth and kissed her passionately. _Too passionately _for someone you just met this morning.

And then, the door banged open, revealing a trembling Kikumaru and two other tennis players who were flaming with anger.

Kirihara smirked as the three opened the door, making them glare at him. He gently released Sakuno, who was too shocked to know what was going on, and stood up, head held high, as if he did something that stopped global warming. "Oh… so you two arrived."

Their patience snapped.

Tezuka grabbed the nurse's swiveling chair and threw it over to Kirihara, without worrying if it'll hit Sakuno since he knows he's got good aim when it comes to these. Kirihara sidestepped as he dodges the chair and was about to mock him when he saw a _bed _flying over his way. His reflexes were too slow to dodge the huge thing and hit him straight in the head.

Tezuka looked at Echizen who just grabbed another bed from the infirmary and threw it over to Kirihara. Kirihara glared at the two and quickly got his hands onto the mini-refrigerator next to him and carried it up, making its electric cord snap from its place. He threw it over to Echizen but he was quick to grab Kikumaru and used him as his shield. Kikumaru fainted, his nose, unfortunately, bleeding.

When Echizen realized that his shield was no longer _usable_ (Ryoma: Che. Just one use. Kikumaru-senpai, mada mada dane), he grabbed the medicine cabinet which was near the nurse's table and threw it over to Kirihara. Because of the huge thing making a strong impact on Rikkaidai's Junior Ace, he was left underneath it, unconscious.

Tezuka stared at Echizen; he was obviously irritated due to Echizen's un_-yudan sezu ni ikou_-ness. Echizen stared back at him, pretending to be dumb.

"Hai, hai… I know I let my guard down." Echizen said as he approached Sakuno, who was still out of her reverie despite the fact that appliances had just learned how to fly a few seconds ago.

"You made him fainted, now there no way for me to get even with him." Tezuka nagged. He nagged because of _that, _not because Echizen might hit Sakuno or something.

"Gomen, gomen…" he said in a tone on how un-sorry he was.

He grabbed Sakuno's wrist and pulled her away.

"Just where do you think you're going, Echizen?" he asked as Ryoma was passing by him, with Sakuno still mentally unconscious.

"Somewhere…" he replied. He has not been able to be with Sakuno all this time. He knows he needed some time alone with her. Or at least enjoying the festival with her.

"Permission not granted." Tezuka glared at his pillar of support.

"Since when did I have to ask for your permission, buchou?" Ryoma stopped, but still not looking at him.

"Since you found out she was my little sister." Tezuka said, as strict as possible.

Echizen turned and smirked at his buchou (Ryoma: I am sooo dead), "I never knew she was your sister. I guess that rule doesn't apply to me."

Tezuka's glasses beamed.

"Ja," he said and dragged Sakuno with him to god-knows-where.

* * *

A/N: Finally finished. I'm still in a writers-block mode so dunno what's going to happen next. Please leave a review and sorry for the wrong spellings and grammar.

Special thanks to: **f my parents**, **Arisato Aigis**, **X'brokenprincesz'X**, **Tainted Silver Rose**, **Chi-Chia mina**, **fire19, clarissejoy**, **xname**, **Maria-Reynne**, **SasoLOVE111**, **ChocoholicAddict22**, **rebeccasanfujieijilvr**, **youngprincezclarisse016** and **obsessiveicequeen **for their reviews, alerts and faves )

DISCLAIMER APPLIES

Next time: I still have no idea what will happen next time… so expect the unexpected XD And please review because the more reviews I get, the more inspired I become. Your reviews is what kept me going… please ;)


	18. My TeniPuri Family

My Tenipuri Family

Two freshmen with one hundred fifty one centimeters of height, walked outside the infirmary. Here he is, _the _Echizen Ryoma, the one who won the Nationals and became number one in the US open, extremely cocky brat and enjoys insulting people with his smug comments, currently kidnapping his coach's granddaughter, Ryuzaki Sakuno, the girl who suddenly attracted few tennis players, much to his dismay.

Is it not obvious enough for them?

She's _his_!

He's the first one who knows her among all of these stupid tennis players. He's the one who's teaching her tennis. HE'S THE ONE who's making her smile at his every win during his matches.

But _no_… (Ryoma: rolling eyes)

THEY just had to suddenly proclaim themselves as Ryuzaki's lover. HE just had to tell everyone she's his sister all of a sudden. HE just had to come back from London and tell everyone that he's her childhood friend. HE just had to steal her first KISS. HE just had to steal her second KISS! (Ryoma doesn't know that Kin-chan had Sakuno's second kiss. Kirihara is only the third.)

And… HE just had to restrain himself from murdering all of these stupid people.

"K-Kirihara-san… h-he…" Sakuno muttered unconsciously. Her eyes are showing blankness.

"Kissed you." Ryoma continued for her.

Sakuno blushed and trembled. "T-Three first k-kisses in a d-day… Otou-sama will be furious! And h-he'll surely b-blame onii-sama…"

Wait. Stop. Three kisses? She already had three kisses! Who's the other one?

"Ne, Ryuzaki… When will you snap out of it?" Echizen Ryoma suddenly said, while releasing his grip from her. He's much too annoyed now to deal with a half-conscious auburn-haired princess.

As if a million meteorites hit her, she suddenly snapped back to reality. "W-What? Where am I?"

Ryoma gave her an indifferent look.

Sakuno looked confusedly at Ryoma. "Ryoma-kun?"

Ryoma sighed inwardly and replied, "I kidnapped you."

"Kidnapped?" Sakuno's confused face suddenly turned curious. "Ryoma-kun kidnapped Sakuno." She said while referring to herself as a third person.

"Yes. Ryoma kidnapped Sakuno," Ryoma repeated.

Then, Sakuno blushed redder than ever before. Ryoma smirked as he watched her through the corner of his eye. She stuttered while walking and accidentally tripped over _nothing _in particular. She landed on Echizen Ryoma's back, which made him fall; face first, on the ground.

"O-Ow… Ryuzaki…" Ryoma said while trying to stand up. "G-Get off of me…"

Sakuno struggled as she tried to get up and apologizes continuously to him. He just shrugged and walked away. Sakuno looked on the ground, showing that she was sorry and did not mean it. She was a klutz after all, he should know better than anyone else. She walked a few steps away from Ryoma and the two of them were in an awkward silence again.

Meanwhile, two familiar heads peeked from the far end corner of the hallway that the two were currently walking unto. The one grinned and the other one chuckled. "Let's do this thing!"

Ryoma glared angrily to no one in particular. He was annoyed that some tough (good-looking) tennis players from around Japan suddenly found themselves falling for Sakuno. It annoys him to hell. If only he knew this would happen, he would have stop buchou from letting Sakuno go.

And Sakuno is too shy to defend herself from those men.

"HELLO THERE!" Ryoma's thought was abruptly disrupted by Shitenhouji's comedy duo, who suddenly appeared at the end corner of the hallway where they were about to turn to.

"Are you on a date with Sakuno-chan, Echizen-_kun…_" Koharu emphasized his formalities, making the prince shiver.

"Ah! Why are you flirting with him, Koharu-chan! You're cheating on me!" His doubles partner, Hitouji Yuuji protested while pouting.

Sakuno smiled as she recognized the two. "You're Kin-chan's senpai-tachi, Koharu-san and Yuuji-san! Nice to meet you!" Sakuno said cheerfully and bowed.

Koharu and Yuuji paused from their supposedly 'lovers' quarrel' and turned their heads slowly to Sakuno. The two grinned and comically hugged each other (making _intimidating_ movements as well). "My, my! Sakuno-chan acknowledged us because of Kin-chan!" Koharu said as tears slowly dropped from his eye.

"So that means that she doesn't need Echizen anymore!" Yuuji said and teleported to Ryoma's side.

Ryoma was surprised at Yuuji's sudden appearance beside him. Koharu also teleported to his other side, and they hugged each other, knowing that Echizen is sandwiched between them. "G-Get off!" Ryoma demanded as he tried his best to glare at the two.

"Why don't you just join us, Echizen-_kun._"

Ryoma shivered again when he heard the seductive mention of his name… by two gays. "No way in hell."

"Oh come on! It'll be fun!" Yuuji said and grabbed Ryoma and Sakuno's wrist, dragging the two dumbfounded Seigaku students behind.

~~~~~\ECHIZEN/~~~\RYOMA/~~~~~

"Welcome," they heard a kid's voice greeted them from nowhere.

Koharu and Yuuji place their hand above their brows, as if showing a gesture of looking for something or someone. "Where's that voice coming from?"

"Down here!" A girl in pigtails answered as she reached her arms above her, catching the middle school students' attention.

"Ah, Kawaii!" Sakuno said as she gently clasped her hands together.

The blue-haired six-year-old looked at Sakuno with her big blue-green innocent eyes. "Onee-chan… you look like my Onee-chan…"

Sakuno stared at her, not knowing what to say.

"My name is Minaguchi Yukime. I'm Miyuki-onee-chan's little sister (1)!"

"HOW ADORABLE!" Koharu suddenly shouted and hugged the kid. "We're V.I.P gamers!"

"V.I.P gamers, yay!" Yukime cheered as she hugged Koharu back.

Upon hearing the little kid's cheering, the manager of the game suddenly appeared and entertained them.

"S-Sorry for the little kid's actions. We were forced by her sister to take care of her why she busied herself on the coffee shop." The manager of the game, Takimoto Hideki said.

Koharu and Yuuji blushed when the saw the manager of the game. They immediately went to either side of the said man and started flirting with him.

"_This is a waste of time,"_ Ryoma thought as he pulled his cap down. "Let's go, Ryuzaki." He turned to look at her but he was more than shocked (that's an understatement) when he saw that Sakuno is being squeezed into a death hug by Kintarou Tooyama… the jungle boy.

"Sakuno-chan! To think that we'll meet again after that kiss. We truly are destined for each other!" he yelled while squeezing Sakuno tighter.

Oh. So he was Sakuno's second kiss. Looks like Tooyama Kintarou just dug his own grave.

Ryoma covered his eyes with his bangs and grinned evilly. "Ne, Jungle Boy," he called.

Kin-chan's toothy grin turned into wonder as a question mark suddenly appeared on top of his head, "What is it, Koshimae?"

"Wanna play some tennis?" Ryoma was about to show him his signature smirk when he realized that Takimoto was grinning annoyingly at them. "What do you want?" Ryoma asked annoyingly.

"Once you enter our class, class 2-D if you may ask, then you're automatically signed in. And since you're V.I.P gamers… it'll be special." Takimoto replied as he tried to push the two gays away from kissing him.

"A-Anou… what is class 2-D's game, anyway?" Sakuno asked politely, not minding that Kin-chan is still hugging her.

"It's little Yukime's plan… so please don't blame me," the manager said as he violently grabbed Koharu's head and threw him mercilessly on the floor; his face still kept cool.

He didn't answer Sakuno's question and leads them to the dark room just beside class 2-D's room. Ryoma and Sakuno took a step inside the dark room. Koharu's glasses beamed and Yuuji chuckled, "GOOD LUCK!" The comedy duo pushed the two cruelly inside the room and locked it.

"A-Anou… Koharu-san! Yuuji-san! Kin-chan!" Sakuno tried to call but all she could hear is Kin-chan's tantrums and Koharu's laugh.

Great timing. Ryoma is finally alone with her. Inside a dark room.

To think that Kirihara was lucky before.

"W-What are we going to do, Ryoma-kun?" Sakuno turned her head, assuming that Ryoma is standing nonchalantly behind her.

"Hn."

Sakuno doesn't know what's behind Ryoma's reply and sighed. "Ryoma-kun…"

Ryoma doesn't know why but he suddenly has the insisting feeling to wrap his arms around her, never letting her go. Maybe because he failed on protecting her from seventeen chapters _straight. _He needs to prove his worth to her before she changed her mind about him and starts dating one of the imprudent bastards. And he believes that the only way to do that is to keep her from meeting anymore of them.

He walked slowly to her. His steps echoed throughout the four corners of the dark room.

"Ryuzaki…"

"W-What is it, Ryoma-kun?" Sakuno tried to look at him and saw his golden orbs staring directly to her chocolate ones.

"Stay in this room with me until the day ends," he said monotonously.

Then, bright light suddenly filled the dark room. Ryoma and Sakuno closed their eyes at the sudden burst of light to them. As they slowly adjusted their vision, they saw Yukimura, Sanada, Tezuka, and Fuji sitting in a kotatsu.

"_What the f***!" _Ryoma inwardly cursed.

"Okaerinasai, kodomo-tachi (2)," Yukimura smiled.

"You're late," Sanada added while sipping his tea.

"Hn. And you think that you can just take her away like that," Tezuka suddenly said, clearly referring to the incident in the infirmary.

"Saa… kids these days…" Fuji said, eyes still closed.

Confusion is evident on the freshmen's face.

Yukime suddenly banged the door open, "Welcome to Tenipuri family!"

Ryoma glared at the cheery kid.

"This will be your game! You'll pretend like a real family and amuse me the best way you can! Yuki-chan is the mother, Sanada-nii-chan is the father, Kuni-nii is the grandpa and Fuji-sama will be grandma. Saku-chan and Ryoma-chan is their child! Ryoma-chan is the older brother by the way."

"I have no time for this. Let's go, Ryuzaki." He was about to drag the girl away for good this time but was stopped again by the two gays who seemed to give him a lot of shivering today.

"Koharu-chan and I will be your auntie and uncle!" Yuuji said as he intertwined his hands on Koharu.

Ryoma twitched, and Sakuno noticed it.

"GET IT STARTED ALREADY!" Yukime yelled out of the blue, "If one of you amuses me enough, then I'll let you be alone inside a room with Saku-chan!" Who would have thought that a child could manipulate the tennis legends when Sakuno is on the line?

~~~~~\ECHIZEN/~~~\RYOMA/~~~~~

"Ezekiel," Nathan suddenly called.

"What is it, Nathaniel-sama?" Ezekiel asked, not looking away from his teddy bear.

"I suddenly got the feeling that I should go to class 2-D for some reason."

"Don't worry. That must be something unimportant."

"Hmm… you may be right."

If only Nathaniel didn't listen to Ezekiel.

~~~~~\ECHIZEN/~~~\RYOMA/~~~~~

"Saku-chan… why don't you _help _your mother with the dishes?" Yukimura said while smiling at her.

"That's right. Help your mother." Sanada nodded as he took another sip from his tea.

"Saa… I think she needs to _spend some quality time _with her grandma first." Fuji said as he falsely smiled at Yukimura, who smiled falsely to him in return.

The tension between the two smiling prince is getting higher and higher.

"Sakuno… come closer to your grandfather," Tezuka said as he moved to give Sakuno some space to sit with him.

"Ryuzaki… why don't you play with your onii-san for a while." Ryoma smirked at Tezuka. "We're kids, after all. We need to _play."_

Sakuno sighed.

* * *

A/N: Chapter finished. I'll update as soon as I can… but please don't forget to leave a review. With fewer reviews I get every chapter, I'm starting to doubt if I'm doing better or not. Like I usually say, sorry for the wrong spellings and grammar. English is not my first language *scratches head*

(1) Miyuki Minaguchi is the OC from chapter two.

(2) "Welcome home, my children."

I DO NOT OWN THIS ANIME –SLASH- MANGA. Only the plot and the OCs.

Because of the following, I updated;** C****hocoholicAddict22** (don't worry… no one's offended XD Your review made me grin widely), **EdxWinry6789**, **Arisato Aigis**,**rebeccasanfujieijilvr**, **fire19** (here comes your RyoSaku), **Someone with a Name** (thanks for the idea… I'll try thinking about the sequel) and **me**.

Next time: Tenipuri family continues as more mayhem appeared. Expect a lot of comedy and some RyoSaku moments. Sanada is starting to feel something for the girl and Yukimura is finally going to start his move.


	19. Family Problems

Family Problems

Little Yukime-chan sat joyfully on the corner of the Japanese-style living room. She's currently watching her favorite show: The Tenipuri Family. She was more than glad that she's able to watch such a thing live. And she was also lucky that the members of the said family were all male, except for Sakuno. "REVERSE HAREM!" Yukime suddenly yelled as she raised her arms up cheerfully.

Sakuno's eyes widened and blush. How can a six-year-old kid know such a thing about reverse harem? She looked at Koharu and Yuuji who were currently making lovey-dovey poses in another corner. Yukime looked at Koharu and Yuuji and yelled, "Yaoi!"

Koharu and Yuuji grinned sheepishly at the girl.

~~~~~\ECHIZEN/~~~\RYOMA/~~~~~

Momo stopped to look at Eiji with one brow raised up. "Eiji-senpai? What are you doing there?" Kikumaru Eiji was currently hyperventilating just a few steps away from the infirmary.

"M-Momo… I just… saw another scary side of O'chibi!" Eiji replied while still looking like he saw a ghost.

"Here, in the infirmary?"

Eiji suddenly stood up and narrowed his eyes on Momo, "Momo! We need to make sure that O'chibi will get Sa-chan or else, the WORLD WILL END!"

"Uhm… o…kay… Where are they?" Momo hesitantly replied.

"_Sekai no owari de umareta hikari ima kaze no naka...(1)" _Eiji suddenly sang; fright never leaving his face.

"Wow… Echizen must have really been angry it he affected you like that…" Momo said as he sweat dropped.

Eiji glared at him, with black markings visible from under his eyes, "They went to class 2-D. Tezuka followed them."

"Buchou followed them? This will be bad…"

~~~~~\ECHIZEN/~~~\RYOMA/~~~~~

"Who will you accompany today, dear daughter?" Yukimura said as he smiled charmingly to the only girl (besides Yukime) in the room.

Sakuno hesitated on answering at first but decided to reply anyway, "A-Anou… I think I'll sit besides grandfather now…"

Tezuka turned his head to the other men sitting on the kotatsu with him; Sanada, Yukimura, Ryoma and Fuji. Ryoma glared at him, Sanada closed his eyes indicating that he didn't care, Yukimura frowned and Fuji opened his cerulean orbs.

"Ne… Buchou," Ryoma suddenly interrupted Tezuka's inner celebration, "I brought my Stoeger Condor with me today."

"Really," Tezuka replied, his glasses beaming. Why would Ryoma bring a double barreled shotgun during Rikkai's festival?

"What kind of lies are you telling us now, Echizen? We all know that a Stoeger Condor is too big for you to carry around. Besides… where are you keeping it? Inside your tennis bag?" Fuji said, showing that he doesn't believe what Ryoma has just said.

"What a coincidence… Echizen brought his shotgun, and I brought my Colt M1892. Such a surprise," Yukimura suddenly said.

"Heh. You think that you could defeat my shotgun with a revolver?" Echizen smirked.

"Uh-huh," Yukimura confidently answered.

Then, Sakuno interrupted the tennis legends, "A-Anou…S-Shotgun? R-Revolver?"

Ryoma looked at her and smirked even more. "You think tennis is the only thing that revolves around my world, don't you?"

Sakuno felt like a huge arrow of guilt pierced her heart; because a huge arrow of guilt really pierced her heart, literally. She removed the arrow (with the word 'guilt' written on it) and tossed it aside. "K-Kind of…"

"Saku-chan doesn't know you that well…" Yukimura said.

"Interesting…" Sanada said sarcastically.

~~~~~\ECHIZEN/~~~\RYOMA/~~~~~

"Ne, Momo, what do we do now?"

"I have a perfectly analyzed plan."

"Nya! Inui! Don't just pop out like that!"

"Inui-senpai? What do you mean by 'perfectly analyzed plan'?"

"You want to help Echizen, right? Follow me… and wear these…"

"WHAT THE HELL IS THAT!"

~~~~~\ECHIZEN/~~~\RYOMA/~~~~~

"Oka-san, Otou-san, Ojii-san and Obaa-san… My sister and I will sleep together now. We were tired from school and whatnot," Ryoma said while pulling the brim of his down lower. He grabbed Sakuno's wrist and pulled her towards a door with a 'Children's room' sign.

"I believe you still have homework to do."

"Nah."

"Ryoma-kun…"

Yukimura looked at Sanada with his do-something-or-else-I'll-kick-you-out-of-the-team look. Sanada sighed and stood up. "Son, go to your room. You're grounded for a month."

"What for?" Ryoma asked, his arrogance never leaving his side.

"For trying to rape your sister." Fuji answered.

Sakuno swore her eyes are going to pop out from their sockets. "R-Rape! R-Ryoma-kun?"

"_Great. Now she thinks I'm a rapist." _Ryoma thought.

Sakuno ran towards Tezuka and hid behind him. "_What? Now she wants buchou to protect her?" _Ryoma thought as he glared at his buchou. Sanada walked towards Tezuka and took Sakuno with him. Tezuka tried to slap Sanada's hands away from her but he was too late. He carried her bridal-style and 'gave' her to Yukimura, "Here's my present for you, Yukimura."

"Thanks, Sanada…" Yukimura replied as he 'took' Sakuno with him and made her sit between his legs. "There's my good girl."

Sakuno blushed. Ryoma glared even more as if he really was about to start World War Three. Yukimura smiled and wrapped his arms around her petite waist. Tezuka adjusted his glasses. A vein appeared on Fuji's head. And Sanada felt a slight pang in his chest.

"Put your hands in the air!" A familiar voice yelled as he violently banged the door of the Tenipuri family opened.

The Tenipuri family turned their heads in slow-motion (even though time is still moving normally).

Eiji and Momo sweat dropped. "_Why are they moving in slow-motion?"_

"This is a holdup!" Eiji yelled.

Eiji was wearing black shades and surgical mask. He was also wearing a black Gatsby cap. On his right hand, lies an unpeeled banana. Its end is pointed towards the family. And to top it all of, he was still wearing his Seigaku uniform.

Momo, on the other hand was wearing a black balaclava and a ninja outfit. Instead of a banana, he's holding Echizen's Stoeger Condor which he found resting inside the tennis prince's bag.

What do you know… Echizen was not lying about the shotgun after all.

Behind them, a taller man appeared. He was not wearing any disguise and he held a green notebook on his hand.

"Yay! Hold uppers!" Yukime cheered as she jumped around like a maniac.

"Inui, Kikumaru, Momo! Give me ten good reasons why you shouldn't be given fifty laps around _Japan _tomorrow."

Eiji and Momo stiffened. "Because! One, we don't have tennis practice tomorrow."

"Two," Eiji continued, "We do not know who this "Eiji, Momo and Inui" you speak of."

"Three," Inui added as he scribbled something on his notebook, "We are not them."

"Four, we're hold uppers! We are Pitchi Pitchi Peach, Hello Kitty and Penal Tea."

"Five, you're gay."

"Six, you'll never see us after this incident again."

"Seven, Sakuno-chan will beg you to stop before even giving us one lap around this tini-tiny room."

"Eight, we'll die if we run around Japan fifty times and you'll lose valuable players."

"Nine, there is a 60 percent possibility that you are just bluffing."

"And ten! I'll push you down the stairs if you give us those laps!"

_Silence_

Sakuno giggled, "Senpai-tachi never changes!" Ryoma smiled a little at Sakuno's comment.

Fuji knows all too well that Tezuka was extremely annoyed at the reasons they gave especially the fifth reason. "Saa… looks like those ten reasons weren't good enough for our captain."

"Enough! BURNING! HAND OVER SAKUNO-CHAN AND ECHIZEN OR ELSE I'LL USE ECHIZEN'S SHOTGUN!" Kawamura suddenly yelled who appeared from nowhere. He was holding his yellow racket.

"Oh yeah… we brought backup."

"Wow. Seigaku regulars are taking it everywhere!" Koharu commented as he placed his index finger under his chin. The yaoi couple saw that Inui and the others forgot to close the door, which means only one thing.

"It's Kin-chan's cue now." Yuuji added.

Suddenly, they heard mischievous laugh echoed throughout the room.

Kin-chan jumped from the ceiling (which is totally illogical) and landed safely in front of Yukimura and Sakuno. He was carrying his AR-15. "Feel the wrath of my ArmaLite Model 15!" He yelled as he insanely pulls the trigger while randomly shooting everywhere.

"Insanity ensues!" Yukime suddenly yelled again.

"Hn. And you said that I'm the one who's gonna cause World War Three," Ryoma mockingly said as he tried to dodge the bullet-fast .223 Remington bullets.

Yukimura covered Sakuno by hugging her and facing the wall. Tezuka and Sanada hid themselves underneath the kotatsu. Fuji just sat still in his position… all random bullets failed to hit him.

Eiji and Momo jaw dropped at Kintarou's insanity. Koharu and Yuuji continued with their lovey-dovey time, while ignoring their kouhai's _usual _outburst. Inui just kept on scribbling something in his trusty green notebook.

~Yukimura and Sakuno's situation~

"Yukimura-san…" Sakuno looked worriedly at her 'mother' who unfortunately got hit by Kin-chan's rifle.

"I-I'm fine," Yukimura tried to reassure her, "P-Please… love somebody else after I'm gone…" Yukimura said as if he was Sakuno's boyfriend.

"Y-Yukimura-san… d-don't leave me… please…" Sakuno tried to stop herself from crying.

"Goodbye… my love…" Yukimura said his last words and dropped unconsciously on the floor.

~Back to normal situation~

"Hahahaha! This is what'cha get from leaving me behind!" Kin-chan yelled while laughing maniacally. He took another set of his bullets and shoots them everywhere again.

"Hey! I thought we're the one who're supposed to holdup them!" Eiji yelled as he dropped himself on the floor to protect himself from Kin-chan's attacks.

"Yeah, me too!" Momo replied. Takashi suddenly took Echizen's Stoeger Condor from Momo's hand and insanely shoots them everywhere, like Kin-chan.

"Hmm… AR-15 can shoot 800rounds/min. Ii data…" Inui muttered.

"This is not the perfect time to calculate the gun's speed!"

Imagine two inexperienced gun-handlers shooting randomly at a small room with twelve people around. Total disaster.

"YUKIMURA!" Sanada suddenly yelled when he noticed that Yukimura is unconscious. He was lying on top of Sakuno who was currently crying.

"G-Gomen… I couldn't protect him…" Sakuno cried louder as Sanada tried to get closer.

Surprisingly and out of the blue, Eiji smashed the banana he was holding a while ago on Kintarou and Kawamura's head. "Stop it you two, nya!"

The two stopped their insanity (Kawamura dropped his yellow racket) and looked at Yukimura.

"Gomen… Sanada… Looks like you have to handle the team yourself." Yukimura dramatically said.

"No… Yukimura, please don't do this!" Sanada leaned closer to him.

"Don't forget to take out the trash every morning…"

"Yukimura!"

"Remember to wash your underwear…"

"This is not our farewell yet!"

"And… Sanada… I'm sorry… I… I…"

"Don't go yet, YUKIMURA!"

"I accidentally broke your laptop…" and Yukimura closed his eyes.

"NO!" Sanada dramatically yelled.

"Oh please. Those guns weren't even real." Ryoma just had to destroy the moment.

"Stop the drama, you two." Fuji said.

Yukimura laughed weakly as he tried to stand up. He offered his hand to Sakuno and helped her stand up. "Echizen-kun, you should have not ruined the perfect moment. The mother dies in front of the father and their daughter… it was such a dramatic ending."

Ryoma stared boringly at them. He folded his arms behind his head and said, "You want a good ending? I'll give you one."

He stood up and snatched Sakuno away from Yukimura as fast as he can and locked themselves inside their 'room'.

"That was fast…" Yukimura walked towards the children's room but he suddenly stop when Eiji and Momo blocked his way.

"The god of dates won't forgive you if you interrupted those two." He pointed his index finger to the room that Ryoma and Sakuno entered.

"Leave them be, or else I'll… I'll-" Eiji scratched his head and turned to Momo, "Tell them what we'll do, Pitchi Pitchi Peach"

"Uhm… well I… we'll… uhm…" Pitchi Pitchi Peach tried to continue but was interrupted by Penal Tea.

"What Hello Kitty and Pitchi Pitchi Peach were trying to tell you was, if you stop the two freshmen from whatever they are doing, there is a 100 percent probability that we'll shave your heads."

Fuji rolled his eyes, "Not much of a threat."

"Seigaku regulars are really interesting, nee, Sanada?"

Sanada nodded and took a small peek on the children's room.

"Listen!" Momo yelled, desperately trying to get their attention. "We need the two of them to stay together or else Echizen will kill us all!"

"I'm not scared." Came their blunt reply.

"This is serious, nya!" Eiji protested.

~~~~~\ECHIZEN/~~~\RYOMA/~~~~~

"Ryoma-kun…"

Ryoma saw the queen-sized bed placed in the middle of the room. _Children's room… Queen-sized bed…_

Ryoma sighed deeply and jumped on the bed. "Man. This V.I.P game shit is much more tiring than our tennis practices," he commented as he buried his face on the soft pillow.

"R-Ryoma-kun… d-do you w-want to t-tell me something?" Sakuno asked as she stood still in front of the door.

"What makes you say that?" Ryoma asked, not moving from his position.

Sakuno blushed as she tried to find herself an answer. After a few minutes of thinking, she finally thought of one. "Y-You… R-Ryoma-kun seems like h-he really wanted to h-have some p-private time w-with me…"

Sakuno couldn't see it, but Ryoma was smirking behind those pillows.

"Aren't you tired yet? Lie down next me," Ryoma said (more like ordered).

Sakuno blushed and closed her eyes tighter. "I-I can't…"

"Why? You think I'm a rapist?"

Sakuno opened her eyes and blushed even more. "N-No! I-It's not that!"

"I don't rape girls with long hair," he said, "I marry them."

Sakuno was now shaking and blushing more than 'even more'.

"Y-You mean… Ryoma-kun will m-marry every g-girl with l-long hair in this w-world?"

Ryoma inwardly sighed. He turned around and lied down on his back. "That's right." He smirked and watched her reactions.

Sakuno's whole face turned red. She lost energy and slowly sat on the floor. She looked everywhere besides Ryoma's eyes. Then, she saw a table filled with office supplies. She saw one pair of scissors among the messy things scattered all over the table. She quickly stood up and grabbed it.

Ryoma's eyes widened at Sakuno's sudden actions. She was on her way to the study table to get a pair of scissors. _Is she going to cut her hair?_

Never underestimate a pro tennis player. Ryoma blocked Sakuno when she was a few steps away from the table and grabbed her hand, "Ryuzaki…" he began as he narrowed his eyes on her and added, "You're not planning on cutting your hair, are you?"

Sakuno looked on the ground and into their hands. "S-Sorry… I don't know what got into me."

Ryoma released her hand from his grip and puts his hands on his pocket. "I'm just teasing you, baka."

Sakuno looked straight into Ryoma's eyes and pouted cutely, "Mou, Ryoma-kun!" She ran to the bed and sat on its edge. She took a pillow and hugged it tight. "You're so mean!" She buried her face on the pillow cutely.

_Bad Mistake, Ryuzaki._

In a split second, Sakuno found herself staring at a smirking tennis prince, pinning her on the bed. Ryoma's bangs covered his eyes as he buried his face on her shoulder. "Nee… Ryuzaki…"

Sakuno can't speak up for she was now embarrassed and blushing furiously.

"What do you think about those guys?"

Sakuno turned her head sideways and accidentally brushed her lips against his cheek. It's possible for a person to blush a deep red color especially for a girl whose hobby is blushing. "S-Sorry… W-What do you mean?"

Ryoma sighed again and turned his head sideways, this time, their lips brushed against each other. Sakuno squeaked and immediately turned her head the other way.

"Ryuzaki is really dense."

At that comment, Sakuno immediately narrowed her eyes. "R-Ryoma-kun… I'm not the one who is dense in this room!"

"Are you saying that I'm the dense one? You think I still haven't noticed that you have a crush on me?"

Sakuno's heart felt like bursting into a million pieces. "_H-He knew?"_

Ryoma smirked at her reaction, "Looks like this conversation only proves me right. You're denser than I am."

She wished that the ground would just swallow her whole. She can't take this embarrassment anymore.

"And…" Ryoma paused for a few seconds, "After all that happened today… have your feelings about me changed already?"

Suddenly, a picture of the other tennis players flashed in her mind. She blushed and avoided his gaze. "I-I don't know a-anymore."

"Heh."

Ryoma pushed himself up and lied down on the other side of the bed. "Just to let you know… You're more important to me than tennis."

The girl suddenly felt nothing but happiness. "T-Thank you…"

It wasn't really a confession, but she was glad that the ice prince found something else more important than tennis. But… why does she feel like there are also other men who think that she's also more important to them than tennis? Sakuno's heart is currently at the state of confusion.

~~~~~\ECHIZEN/~~~\RYOMA/~~~~~

Yukimura rarely glares. In fact, no one has ever seen him glare in his whole life. If he's mad, his face only turns serious… but no glares. Seems like Yukimura was really serious about the pigtailed girl. The child of God walked away, but not before giving Sanada _those _look.

Sanada sighed and turned to face Eiji and Momo who was currently blocking his way. He needs to get Ryuzaki immediately or else, Yukimura might do something bad. He needs to hook those two together or else they'll really feel what World War Three feels really like.

But…

Helping his best friend date Sakuno might be really hard for him… especially…

…when he's gradually starting to fall for the girl himself…

~~~~~\ECHIZEN/~~~\RYOMA/~~~~~

_BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG!_

"Open the door, Koshimae!" _BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG!_

"Echizen! Release her or else you'll be running 50 laps around Japan tomorrow!"

"Saa…"

"O'chibi! Fight-o! Don't lose to them, nya!"

"Ah youth…"

"Uhm… what am I doing here? (Holds a yellow racket) BURNING! ECHIZEN KIDNAPPED SAKUNO AND NOW THEY'RE EXPRESSING THEIR BURNING LOVE FOR EACH OTHER!"

"Koharu-chan, let's express our burning love for each other like them!"

"Yuuji-kun…"

_Yaoi Censored_

"Ii data… the children's room is bulletproof."

"Kawaii, kawaii! Onii-chan and Onee-chan making love! Making a baby, yay!"

"Yukime-chan… what's going on here?"

"Incest, incest! Takimoto-nii, an incest!"

Sanada sighed. "By now, I'm pretty sure that Konomi isn't the one writing this… but who…"

"Eh! Konomi isn't writing this! No wonder we act more insanely than our usual gigs, nya!"

_END OF 19__TH__ CHAPTER_

* * *

A/N: No, I do not know anything about guns. I just researched on Wikipedia at the last minute. And Sakuno! How many times did she blush in this chapter! And I just realized… this fic is starting to become a series of related one-shots (sometimes two-shot) but what the heck! I don't know when this fic will end but I already have an idea on how to end it. Sorry again for the wrong spelling and grammar. And rest assure that I'll update the next chapter sometime this week. And after that... I'll be busy again since its time for school again.

(1) Code Geass's second opening song. Its title is "World End".

Disclaimer is mentioned by Sanada and Eiji above.

Thank you so much for your wonderful reviews! More importantly, thank you so much for being so kind to me. *Bows* **rebeccasanfujieijilvr****, ****ChocoholicAddict22****, ****Arisato Aigis****, ****Tainted Silver Rose****, ****Someone with a Name****, medomXX01923, 170v3anime, **and **nertz****.**

Next time: Sanada undergoes the pain of pretending that he didn't like Sakuno for the sake of his best friend. Will Yukimura find out? Or he'll be left completely oblivious?


	20. Because You are My Friend

Because You are My Friend

_Helping his best friend date Sakuno might be really hard for him… especially…_

…_when he's gradually starting to fall for the girl himself…_

While the commotion between Echizen and the others are taking place, two lovey-dovey couples were planning something more insane than Kintarou's gun-handling prowess. Dark and gloomy auras surrounded them while the others are busy opening the locked 'Children's room'. Between Kintarou's maniacally laugh and Yukime's innocent cheer, two gays instantly changed their usual Shitenhouji uniform into black T-shirt and black pants, ready to make their companion's lives more miserable.

_BANG BANG BANG! _"Dang it, Koshimae! Open the door!"

"This is going to be fun! Become the youth that you are, Echizen!"

"Probability that they're doing something interesting… 99 percent."

"Hey… is it me… or did the door open for half a second?"

"Saa… It's just your imagination, Eiji…"

**====|YUKIMURA|===|SEIICHI|====**

"We did it, Koharu-chan! We managed to unlock the door and go inside in no second's time," said Yuuji.

"Of course. No one can break the power of our love!"

They turned around and saw Echizen and Sakuno sleeping peacefully next to each other. No dirty hands touching the girl… no lustful atmosphere… just two kids innocently lying down next to each other, sleeping.

Koharu and Yuuji won't tolerate this!

They gently carried the girl and put her in top of the guy. Yuuji grabbed the boy's hand and placed it under the girl's butt. They tilted the girl's head so that her face will meet the boy's. And they placed the boy's other hand on the back of her head.

"Hmm… something is missing, Yuuji-kun…"

"Hmm… you're right… Oh, I know!"

Yuuji gently pressed Sakuno's head closer to Echizen and made the two kiss.

"Perfect! You're such a genius, Yuuji-kun! You're making me fall in love with you all over again!"

"Oh, Koharu-chan…"

_YAOI CENSORSHIP_

The two opened the door and met the flaming eyes of Kintarou. "Oh, Kin-chan! Look at what we found!" Koharu pointed his index finger on the queen-sized bed wherein Sakuno and Ryoma are sleeping. The others followed the direction of where Koharu is pointing, and a vein suddenly appeared on top of their head (except Eiji, Momo and Yukime).

**====|YUKIMURA|===|SEIICHI|====**

_Knock Knock_

"Come in…"

Sanada opened the door to the Fine Arts Committee room and found Yukimura sitting on a chair facing the windows of the room.

"Yukimura… you left without even taking Ryuzaki-san with you."

"Sorry. Didn't mean to be rude," Yukimura replied without even looking at his friend.

Sanada inwardly sighed and walked towards Yukimura. He held his friend's shoulder and stared outside the window. "I heard that Ryuzaki-san also loves arts."

Yukimura turned to Sanada and smiled gently. "Good to hear."

"Why don't you go after her? Echizen might be doing something to her now," Sanada suddenly said which turned Yukimura's smile upside down.

"I don't need to worry about her. Tezuka is there. I'm sure he can handle his pillar of support without me."

Sanada released his grip on Yukimura's shoulder. He turned towards the door and left, but not before saying something like, "I'll help you with her."

Yukimura was left staring at the door.

**====|YUKIMURA|===|SEIICHI|====**

"Ryuzaki-san," Sanada called. He entered the room as soon as he found the children's room open. He saw the others crowding in front of it. He ignored them and shoved his way to see her, but only got surprised when he saw the two Seigaku freshmen's position.

…

"ECHIZEN!" Sanada heard Tezuka yelled.

Startled by his captain's voice, Ryoma immediately shot his eyes open, only to be greeted by the sight of Ryuzaki Sakuno kissing him. And his hand is on a place where it shouldn't be. _"Ryuzaki… what the…"_

Slowly, Sakuno opened her eyes. She felt that something is touching her private part and also her lips. When her eyes were fully opened, she blush ten shades of crimson and sat up after seeing her current position with Ryoma. After a few seconds of having a blushing-slash-staring contest with Ryoma, she heard her senpai-tachi cheering.

"Go, O'chibi! I knew you were fast, nya!"

"Eiji-senpai… I think Echizen went overboard though…"

"R-Ryuzaki… I swear… I didn't do anything…"

"Ii data… looks like Echizen can use Muga no Kyouchi even outside the courts," Inui suddenly said.

"M-Muga no kyouchi? Inui-senpai, what do you mean?" Momo asked as he turned around to look at his senpai's beaming face.

"Muga no Kyouchi… It refers to a state reached by a player when they push pass their own limits. At this point the tennis they play no longer have thoughts as their own bodies are reacting from past experiences accordingly. However, it is extremely tiring and first-timers collapse from exhaustion," Inui explained.

"So… uh… what you mean is… Echizen used his muga no kyouchi when he was doing _that _with Sakuno-chan?"

"O'chibi was out of character when they did _that. _It kinda reminds me of the time when I asked him to sing 'Tonde! Mawatte! Mata Raishuu' before. He also passed out after singing, nya."

_They found Sakuno sleeping on top of Ryoma. Both of them are sleeping __soundly._

"It is extremely tiring for _first timers _and they will collapse from exhaustion," Inui repeated.

"And the person who did _that _wasn't really on his right mind-frame," Eiji added.

"And there's a 65 percent possibility that Ryuzaki-chan also complied with what Echizen did because she, herself, has also attained the state of self-actualization."

"You mean… Echizen _did that _with my sister using a technique he learned in tennis!" Tezuka's voice became louder and louder each word.

Ryoma sat up and stared at Sakuno's red face. "_I had s*x with Ryuzaki? And I was in a state of self-actualization! So that means that…"_

Ryoma muttered a long 'hn' and began talking in an arrogant way. "So I guess Ryuzaki and I are officially going out. Why the hell would we do _that _if we didn't want to, right, Ryuzaki?"

"EH!"

"I had your fourth kiss…and your fifth… and so on. From now on, I'll be the one whose going to supply your daily need of vitamin K(iss)," Ryoma smirked as arrogantly as possible.

Due to embarrassment, (and the probability of Echizen being a pervert goes _way _up) she hid her face behind her hands and ran away… away from the dreaded place called 'Children's room'.

"Sakuno," Tezuka tried to call his sister back but she didn't listen to him. She ignored what everybody else said and ran away as quickly as she can. Tezuka was only surprised to find out that his clumsy sister could attain Muga no Kyouchi with Echizen. And it's not about tennis, mind you. It's about _that._

"Ko… shi… ma… e…" Echizen's rival called, "What you did for Sa-chan is… _unforgivable," _Kin-chan said in a tone that no one else heard coming from him before.

_BANG BANG BANG_

"Kawamura."

"Hai? What is it, Tezuka?"

"Give me that Stoeger Condor."

"Okay…"

_BANG BANG BANG_

"Wait! Buchou, don't get all worked up because you can't love her more than a sibling!"

A vein appeared on Tezuka's head. _SNAP_

_BANGBANGBANGBANG_

"Saa… No use defending yourself Echizen."

"Looks like O'chibi's gonna die before running those laps around Japan, nya!"

"Nee, Koharu-chan, do you think it's about time to tell them the truth?"

"Nah... It looks fun this way."

**====|YUKIMURA|===|SEIICHI|====**

Unknown to the tennis players back in the children's room, a third year student wearing a cap found his way outside to follow the girl.

"_Don't worry, Yukimura. I'll help you in anyway I can," _he thought as he calmly walked around the hallways looking for a certain twin-braided girl. After a few minutes of walking, he successfully found her. She was sitting adjacent to the Fine Arts Committee room where Yukimura is currently in. She was hugging her knees and burying her face deeper into them.

"Ryuzaki-san," Sanada called as she slowly turned her head up to see him.

"Why don't you go inside the Fine Arts Committee room? There's someone waiting for you there," he continued while remaining stoic and intimidating.

"Someone?" she repeated just to make sure she heard right.

"Yukimura".

"Yukimura-san is waiting for me?"

Sanada sighed and looked at another direction. "If you were to ask my opinion, I do not agree with the idea of dating Yukimura while he's supposed to concentrate in tennis and high school entrance exams."

A question mark appeared on top of Sakuno's head.

"But," Sanada paused and looked at her eyes, "I think he'll be happier that way. Tennis isn't everything, after all."

Sakuno tilted her head in confusion.

"Just make sure that you won't distract him when he's practicing. Agree on that condition and I'll let you date him."

Sanada looked at the girl and sighed when he saw her confused after what he said.

"_Thank you for always being there for me, Sanada. Someday, for sure, I'll repay you."_

"_No need. I am only doing this because you are my friend."_

"_But… to do this much?"_

"_I believe what I am doing is based on what I want to do. So, stop worrying."_

"How can I not worry?" Yukimura whispered to himself as he recalled the past events that happened between him and Sanada. He sat behind the committee room's door and stared at the ceiling, while listening to Sanada and Sakuno's conversation outside.

After sighing, he sat beside Sakuno and removed his black baseball cap and placed them on the ground next to him. "Yukimura is not as fragile as he looks. He's really strong and I admire him for that. He lives his life based on what he believes."

Sakuno turned her head down and stared at her shoes. She kinds of agree to what Sanada said but she also knows that Yukimura's fragileness is somehow just a cover up for himself to stop Sanada from worrying about him. And it looks like it turned the table around. Yukimura is now to worrywart for Sanada's physical, mental and emotional persona.

"Sanada-san is pretending too much," the princess suddenly whispered to herself, but it was still loud enough for Sanada _and _Yukimura to hear.

"_So… you plan on pursuing the operation, eh?"_

"_That's right. I'll let you handle the team until I come back."_

"_Don't worry. I'll take care of them in your place."_

"_Thanks, Sanada. I knew I could count on you. But… will you be fine, though?"_

"_I'll be fine."_

"I am not pretending," Sanada retorted.

"But you are," Sakuno argued, yet her expression is still calm and serene, "You've always been pretending, haven't you?"

"How can you be so sure?"

Sakuno narrowed her eyes a bit as she looked into the third year's stern eyes. "Because… Sanada-san's eyes changes whenever he's about to do something for Yukimura-san… just like what he's doing right now. It's like he's forced to do something he doesn't want to."

Unbeknownst to the man himself, his heart suddenly increased its beating speed as he looked at the princess nervously. _Guilty._

Yukimura's eyes widened after what his princess said. It seems like the girl whom Sanada just met this morning knows him better than him, the person who knows him since childhood. "_Sakuno-chan…" _his bangs covered his eyes as he smirked. "_Sanada had been pushing himself too far… because of me…"_

_Helping his best friend date Sakuno might be really hard for him… especially…_

…_when he's gradually starting to fall for the girl himself…_

Hell. Sanada had been doing stuff that hurts him even before he met Ryuzaki Sakuno. And this obstacle for him is harder than what he usually does. Pretending that he does not like her because he's his friend is the most painful thing he felt yet.

_I do not like Ryuzaki Sakuno. _He kept on forcing himself.

"_I do not like her. As an acquaintance, maybe… but as a girl… it's impossible. It gives the whole definition for the word 'impossible'. She's only a rival team's schoolmate, nothing else. Above all… she's Yukimura's…"_

"I can't hate him," Sanada suddenly said.

Sakuno smiled gently at her companion. "You _don't _want to hate him."

"Because he's also important… important to me. I don't want to hate him because he's not worth it." After that, he grabbed his baseball cap and wore it on his head. He stood up and reached his arms out for Sakuno. "Stand up."

Sakuno nodded and reached Sanada's hand. "S-Sanada-san… what is it that's been bothering you?"

Sanada avoided eye contact with her and walked towards the Fine Arts Committee room. He opened the door and still found Yukimura in the same position when he left him. "Yukimura, I brought Ryuzaki-san for you."

Yukimura swiveled his chair and saw Sakuno timidly approaching the door. "Thank you, Sanada."

Sanada nodded and was about to leave the two alone when Yukimura's voice stopped him. "Wait," the Child of God paused and continued when Sanada stopped in his tracks, "You're not the only one who's pretending in our friendship." Yukimura gave Sanada a sympathetic look. Sanada just stared at him and was about to go away when his captain's voice interrupted him again, "You're leaving?"

"She'll be happier with you."

"What makes you say that?"

Sanada turned around to face his friend. He gave him his answer which surprised the captain, "Because you are my friend." (*insert dramatic background music here*)

With that, Sanada left and closed the door, leaving Sakuno and Yukimura alone inside the committee room.

"_That's right. Ryuzaki-san will be happier with Yukimura than with me. He'll give her the happiness that he also gave me. It's better this way." _Sanada thought as he walked casually along the corridors. "_And I should do this before I completely fall for her."_

"S-Sanada…"

Sakuno looked at Yukimura's depressed stare. She slowly walked towards him and held his hand gently. "Y-Yukimura-san… I… I…"

Sakuno stopped when she saw Yukimura's forced smile. "Sorry… you got yourself involved."

Sakuno narrowed her eyes and pulled Yukimura closer to him, "No! Don't apologize to me! Talk to Sanada-san before it's too late!"

Yukimura smiled at his companion again. Sakuno is still oblivious to what the boys are fighting about. All she knows is that their friendship is about to tear apart. "I can't."

"W-Why!"

"He entrusted you to me. He believes in me. He knows that I can do it…" Yukimura's smiling face suddenly changed, "When the truth is… I can't."

Sakuno narrowed her eyes once more and dragged Yukimura out of the room. She pulled Yukimura's arm and started roaming around the building. "We're going to find him, and you're going to talk to him!"

Yukimura helplessly allowed the girl drag him around the building to find Sanada.

They passed by class 2-D where they still heard loud noises and even louder gun shots.

Yukimura and Sakuno kept on running until Sakuno's knees gave up. She panted as she struggled to get up. Yukimura was not even breaking a sweat when he stopped to look at Sakuno. Being a tennis legend sure has its advantages. He kneeled down so that he and Sakuno were now face to face. "Are you okay?"

"It's just that I… s-sorry I was such a… bother… Yukimura-san should… go after him," Sakuno said between panting.

Yukimura smiled charmingly at the girl and carried her bridal-style. "You said we'll find him together, right?"

Sakuno blushed when Yukimura carried her and closed her eyes tightly.

Yukimura began to run around again to find his fukubuchou. After ten minutes of running, he finally found him. He gently released Sakuno from his hold and walked slowly towards Sanada. They are now on the rooftop of the building.

"_Sanada… I… I…" _Yukimura thought to himself as he was gradually getting closer to the stern fukubuchou. "Sanada!"

Sanada sighed and turned around to face Yukimura. "I knew you'd be coming. Ryuzaki-san told you to find me, didn't she?"

"That's right. We fell in love with such an interesting girl." Yukimura smiled as she sat on the ground. Sanada sat next to him, as well.

Sakuno couldn't hear them properly since she's standing behind the door that leads to the rooftop. She watched the two boys sat next to each other and began talking. Unbeknownst to her, another figure was slowly approaching her.

"Correction:_ You_ fell in love with such an interesting girl," Sanada said as he lowered the brim of his cap.

"_He's pretending again…" _Yukimura thought as he gave his vice-captain a forced smile, "Let's just both do our best."

"I do not want to rival you in these sorts of things."

"That makes two of us," Yukimura smiled genuinely this time which made Sanada's eyes widened.

"If both of you want to give the girl to each other, then there's no use. You might as well date each other then." They suddenly heard a familiar voice that interrupted their conversation.

Niou Masaharu appeared behind Ryuzaki Sakuno. "Either that or call each other 'rival'."

Yukimura smiled at Niou while Sanada glared at him. Yukimura stood up and reached his arms to Sanada, just like how Sanada reached his arms to Sakuno earlier. "Stand up, rival."

Sanada sighed and grabbed Yukimura's hand, "I guess this destroyed my plan."

"Our friendship will still not end though. I want you to stop pretending and show me the real you; just like how you showed Sakuno-chan who you really are." Yukimura said in a gentle way as Sanada stood in front of him.

"_I did not show her my real self. She figured out who I really was just by observing me," _Sanada thought for a while. "If only you'll keep on moving forward… believing that you'll be able to do it," Sanada said. Yukimura smiled again and shook hands with Sanada. "Deal," they both said.

"Hmm… I actually thought that they'll choose the former. Oh well," Niou said as he suddenly kissed Sakuno passionately. Sakuno's eyes widened and fainted.

"_Too bad… my plan was to actually hook those two up so that I can have Sakuno all to myself. I guess I shouldn't have said to call each other 'rival'."_

Yukimura and Sanada suddenly paused when they saw Niou _eating _Sakuno. A vein appeared on top of their head as they calmly (yet murderously) approached the trickster. But before they could reach their annoying teammate, he already ran away as far from the rooftop as possible, with Sakuno.

"Niou…"

"Tarundoru!"

"Piyo," Niou said and smirked.

**====|YUKIMURA|===|SEIICHI|====**

"Shiraishi!" Kin-chan cried childishly when he spotted Shiraishi near class 2-D. He didn't drop his gun, though.

"K-Kin-chan? Koharu… Yuuji? What are you guys doing here?" Shiraishi asked as he tried to comfort the first year who is crying like a baby. Kin-chan just hugged his buchou tighter and cried louder.

"My, oh my! Buchou is here! Sakuno-chan was raped by Kin-chan's lifetime rival," Koharu answered while trying to look as innocently as possible.

"'I didn't rape-ow!" Ryoma was cut off when Tezuka successfully hit him with the Stoeger Condor.

Tezuka's glasses beamed.

"Rape? Wait… I just saw Niou-kun carrying Sakuno-san while running away." Shiraishi informed.

Everyone looked around and found out that Sakuno wasn't with them.

After that, he wished he just kept his mouth shut.

A Stoeger Condor and AR-15 were suddenly pointed to him.

"TELL US WHERE HE TOOK HER!"

Shiraishi laughed nervously.

**

* * *

**

**O M A K E (can be ignored (just want to experiment what would happen if Sakuno heard Echizen sing))**

"Nee, nee, Sakuno-chan!"

"What is it, Kikumaru-senpai?"

"You want to hear O'chibi's sing?"

"What? Well... I uhm... guess so..."

*Eiji plays 'Tonde! Mawatte! Mata Raishuu~Echizen Ryoma version*

"What do you think, nya?"

*Sakuno giggles*

*Echizen arrived and heard him singing that cursed song*

"K-KIKUMARU-SENPAI! WHY'D DO YOU HAVE A COPY OF THAT!"

"Calm down, O'chibi!"

"Senpai is right, Ryoma-kun. You sang like you're drunk here" *giggles*

"I-IDOT! I was in a state of self-actualization there!" *Echizen blushes from embarrassment*

"Okay... Okay... if Ryoma-kun says so..."

*The song suddenly became louder and louder*

"Ryuzaki! Shut that thing off!"

*Eiji and Sakuno laughed louder*

"_I hate Muga no Kyouchi..." _

_..._And to think that only writers are capable of making PoT characters OOC. Not true. Muga no Kyouchi could also make _any _character more OOC than FFN writers.

* * *

A/N: Hope no one saw the SanaYuki pairing in this chappie. I just preferred to call it _friendship. _Its not like I have something about boyxboy pairing... its just that I don't feel it in the Prince of Tennis fandom.

Oh yeah, I won't be updating for a while again (hopefully, it won't reach 1year and 4months like before) since school is going to start in June… I guess I'll update sometime between July and August if I'm not busy… and our semester break (which is the last week of October) and during the Christmas holidays. I hope I can fulfill the schedule. But it will be harder this year since our university is celebrating its 400th year. Yes… my school is that old. Sorry for the wrong spelling and grammar and please leave a review :3 And, if you have the free time, please vote on my **Poll. **Just go into my profile and answer it. It will determine how this fic will end. Thank You .

Anyway, I advise all of you to read '_Danger in the Tennis Courts' _by iKiohri. It's really good and I saw no grammar mistakes from it. It really entertained me and I would love it if my readers read that fic, as well.

Thank you very much to the ff. reviewers: **KewlKandyKlan24****, ****Someone with a Name****, ****fire19****, ****dijanexryoma-kun****, ****AnimanicXOX****, ****rebeccasanfujieijilvr****, ****AlphaSigma****, ****riza106****, ****Arisato Aigis**and**SasoLOVE111**

Next time: Sakuno and Niou watches the sunset together. Yukimura and Sanada felt completely ridiculous after the trickster tricked them, Echizen manages to live after that shot Tezuka made, Marui will finally show himself up again… and more insanity follows. Basically, I do not know what exactly will happen next but please stay tuned!


	21. The Trickster and the Tricked

Chapter 21: The Trickster and the tricked

A girl with long auburn hair slowly let her eyes open when consciousness finally got into her. As she opened her eyes, she remembered the contract that Nathaniel asked her to sign before. He said that it was only for an autograph but it was later revealed that it was an engagement contract. Then it was destroyed by Kabaji who won the tag game and it was never seen again… until now.

"See this paper, ojou-chan? This is the _real _engagement contract. And guess whose contract it is? Yours!" Niou said playfully as he let the paper sway with the wind, not knowing that Sakuno just woke up.

Sakuno quickly sat up upon realizing that she was lying on Niou's lap just beside the tennis courts, in the benches. "Whoa… so you're awake! That's unexpected," Niou smirked.

"N-Niou-san! W-What-! H-How-! EHHH!" Sakuno asked confusedly while looking from the paper to the trickster and back to the paper again.

"Nathan-chan is stupid enough to underestimate the magic of the trickster," Niou answered Sakuno's unfinished questions. "I took it when the tag game was ongoing. He didn't even notice it."

She suddenly felt her heart beat pump fast. She's feeling really nervous now. So that means that the contract that Kabaji tore in half was fake… and the real one is in the hands of the _trickster. _THE TRICKSTER! It means that he can use it for blackmail or even worse…

"I'll use it to make your little suitors my pet," Niou suddenly said. "Yup… Marui, Kirihara, Yukimura, Sanada, Atobe, Jirou, Ootori, Echizen… whoa… you've got a lot of suitors! Talk about reverse harem!"

Sakuno blushed and hid her embarrassment by burying her face on her palms.

"And of course… that includes me as well!"

Sakuno looked up and saw Niou staring at the contract. "N-Niou-san… I-I… I'm sorry…"

Suddenly, the trickster stood up and smirked at the orange-hued skies. "Looks like this loooooooooooooooooooooooong day is about to end!" Niou said as he stretched his arms up.

**||~~``~~``NIOU' '~~' '~~||**

Meanwhile, Nathaniel Schaffer sat in the middle of a huge meeting office inside Rikkai's owner's main office. He stared uninterestedly at the older men wearing formal clothing, trying to look as appealing as possible. After a few minutes, an old gentleman approached Nathan and offered his hand to him.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Schaeffer-san. I'm one of your grandfather's colleagues," The guy introduced himself in English (yet failed to make himself sound fluent).

"I see. I think it's best for an old guy like _you _to quit your stupid job for failing to even support your own language. I've studied Japanese language after all," Nathan answered in a bratty tone.

The guy suddenly felt nervous. He knows that Schaffer is a _very _influential man and the company his family owns can take away his wealth in a snap. "Moushi wake arimasen," he bowed.

"I don't like you," Nathan shot back and the guy nervously went back to his seat.

"Anyway, Schaeffer-san, I believe you all gathered us here to give your comment on the University's festival, am I right?" the owner of Rikkaidai said.

"No. I don't give a damn about your school," Nathan replied.

The other gentlemen looked at each other confusedly, "W-What is the reason then?"

"I have found my childhood friend here, you see. And she was my first love."

The gentlemen stared unbelievingly at the youngest person in the room. The bratty, soon-to-be-CEO of the Schaffer Co. has a childhood sweetheart? "And you called us… why?"

"I've got her engagement contract here," Nathan called Ezekiel and he quickly handed his president the contract. "I want you to do a very special favor for me… I need you to dedicate the end of the festival to me and my fiancé."

They all stared at the engagement contract with Nathan _and _Sakuno's signature on it.

"I-If that is what you want, we'll gladly comply."

**||~~``~~``NIOU' '~~' '~~||**

Sakuno peeked at the silver-haired Rikkai tennis player in her left. She watched the third year's features while he was just staring blankly at the sunset. He looks like a trickster to begin with. That sly smirk, and intimidating eyes… are obvious reasons why a person should avoid him as much as possible. Her eyes then wandered to the engagement contract he was holding. She must get that contract or there's hell to pay!

"A-Anou… N-Niou-san… T-That contract… I-I think it's b-best to l-leave it to me…" Sakuno said timidly.

"Nah," he replied and stared at the contract. A beep from his cell phone followed after and he flipped it open to see a message sent by someone close to him.

"Eh? Doushite? I mean… I _do _own that contract," Sakuno asked, not minding about the text message Niou received.

Niou did not answer her. Instead he stood up and walked away.

"A-Anou… Niou-san… where are you going?"

"Looks like Akaya-chan woke up," Niou said as he turned around and let out a sly smirk, "Wanna see how's he doing?"

Sakuno looked with puzzlement at him for a second before nodding and ran after him.

Niou and Sakuno stopped in front of the infirmary's closed door. Sakuno looked at Niou with confusion since he was just staring at the door. "A-Anou… Niou-san… what's the matter?"

Niou sighed and puts out something from his pocket, revealing a handcuff from his palm as he showed it to her. "Saku-chan, mind if I play some tricks on him first?"

A question mark popped on top of Sakuno's head.

"Stay here until I say you can come in," Niou said as he turned the knob of the door and went in, closing it again after him.

"Yo, Akaya-kun!" Niou greeted as he sighted the infamous ace of Rikkaidai.

Kirihara glared at him. He was sitting on top of the bed the auburn head was confined to earlier, with lots of once-fixed things scattered all over the nurse's office. Mini refrigerator here, bed turned upside down there, medicine cabinet here, swiveling chair there… Niou noticed this and sighed, "Akaya-kun, look at what you've done... seems like you really got yourself into a war. What would Yukimura say to the nurse now?"

"It's all Tezuka and that brat's fault! They threw things at me!" Kirihara defended.

"Why did they?"

"Because I kissed Sakuno-chan!"

"Why did you?"

"Because I love her!"

"How did you?"

"When we met at that Karaoke room and she sang like an angel."

"That's a bit corny coming from you, isn't it?"

Kirihara turned his head away from Niou disapprovingly. Because of their somewhat short conversation, he did not notice Niou walking closer to him as he spoke.

"Guess what, baby…" Niou started as he leaned closer to Kirihara threateningly.

Kirihara became nervous but tried it hide it with his pride, "W-What now?"

"Yukimura and Sanada already admitted they've fallen in love with her…"

Niou began to take out the handcuff he showed Sakuno earlier.

"F-Fuku-buchou did?" Kirihara knew that Yukimura was in love with her, but did not expect his precious fuku-buchou to be in love with her, too. He could take Yukimura on, but not Sanada…

Niou nodded in agreement and with Kirihara still dazed at the new information he had been told, he did not notice Niou handcuffing his right hand on the bed railing. Kirihara only noticed when Niou smiled playfully at him and called Sakuno out.

Sakuno opened the door to see the whole room messy, with Kirihara and Niou in the middle of it. "M-My! What happened here?"

A playful smirk appeared on Niou's face. He handcuffed the other part to Sakuno's left hand and looked at Kirihara meaningfully. "Good luck, baby."

With that, he ran outside the room, leaving a handcuffed girl to a handcuffed boy handcuffed to the bed railing. Kirihara and Sakuno did not comprehend it at first but after realization dawned upon them, they looked at each other nervously and immediately tried to remove the handcuff from the railing.

Constant metal _clangs _echoed throughout the messy infirmary as they tried with all their power to remove the handcuff from the railing, or else they'll be stuck there until someone sees them, or worse, after the festival!

After some good twenty minutes of metal clangs, the two finally gave up and sighed simultaneously. It was now dark outside, and lamp lights started to light the whole school grounds. "Gomen ne, Saku-chan… for my senpai's behavior…"

Sakuno looked apologetically at Kirihara as she replied, "N-No, it's not your fault, Kirihara-san! I should've told you about what Niou-san was about to do… He said he was going to do some tricks on you before he came in…"

The two sighed again.

"B-By the way, Kirihara-san, why did you text Niou-san of all people to see you?" Sakuno suddenly asked as she remembered the text Niou received earlier.

Kirihara looked at her in question, "I did not text him. I did not text anyone…"

Sakuno looked at him confusedly, "E-Eh? T-Then… who was the one who sent him the message?"

**||~~``~~``NIOU' '~~' '~~||**

"O-Okay… so is that all you want to ask from us?" a gentleman in his middle ages asked the young Schaeffer heir as the blonde brat stood up, ready to leave.

"Yeah, so hurry up with the stupid preparations."

Ezekiel bowed politely to the rest of the men as Nathaniel left the room. The young vice-president of Saint Stephen Academy walked timidly behind his president, hugging his huge bear, worrying about what his president is up to.

Then, he did not notice that his president stop walking, causing him to bump on him. He apologized profusely but stopped immediately after seeing a familiar face standing casually in front of them.

"Yo, Nathaniel-chan," Niou greeted in a threatening tone.

"You were the one who informed me where Sakuno was hours ago… that she was in the Host Club…" Nathan said.

"Yes. Niou Masaharu, at your service," Niou made a playful salute as he greeted.

"What do you want?" Nathan suddenly asked.

Niou made another sly grin. "The contract. The one I got from you secretly during that tag game-"

"The trickster does not want to be tricked?" Nathan cut him off.

The trickster's sly grin turned into a fierce glare, "How did you know I wanted to take it, and replaced the one I thought real with a fake?"

Meanwhile, a group of young men walked around the hall near the two, with two guns pointed at the so-called Perfect tennis player, also known as the captain of Shitenhouji, as they glare daggers at him, clearly persuading him to tell them where the trickster took their precious Sakuno to.

"Didn't I tell you I'm leading you guys to the place, so stop pointing those guns at me!" Shiraishi said nervously.

Glaring eyes continued to attack him.

Shiraishi sighed.

It was then when they saw Niou and Nathan talking to each other in the middle of the hallway. They all stopped their noises and moved closer to them to eavesdrop.

"I didn't," they heard Nathan say, "I was just really being careful after I announced that contract."

Niou continued to glare at him.

Then, Yukimura and Sanada showed up in the other corner of the hallway, the opposite end of where Shiraishi and the others were. They decided to eavesdrop on the blonde foreigner and the trickster, just like the other group of eavesdroppers.

Niou and Nathan pretended to be oblivious that two groups of 'Sakuno lovers' were listening to them.

"So, Nathan-chan, since you managed to trick the trickster, what are you supposed to do now?" Niou asked.

"Why would I answer you?"

"Just consider it as a payment for helping you reach out to Sakuno-chan in that Host Club."

Nathan sighed, "First things first. How did you know I was here?"

"A text message," Niou replied, "I received a text message from someone who calls himself 'gentleman'. He informed me that he saw you here."

"And so? What if I'm here? And what made you think that the contract you have is fake?"

"Well, I've been known as the trickster for quite a long time. I know the difference between a real and a fake contract. I only found out minutes ago, though. I praise you for that. And I needed the real engagement contract from you that's why I had to find you."

"Why?"

"For Akaya's sake," Niou replied truthfully. "If our fuku-buchou supported our buchou, then I support our ace."

The other Rikkai members present in the scene suddenly became nervous. Niou suddenly came into the rooftop earlier and kissed Sakuno, all the while taking her away from them, right? He even said that he wanted Sakuno to himself… and now he says that he supports their youngest member?

"I believe Akaya needs her more than anyone else in this world."

Something snapped inside Nathan. He suddenly…

**||~~``~~``NIOU' '~~' '~~||**

"I don't know who sent Niou-senpai the message, but whatever! Sakuno-chan, since we're alone here and all… Tell me something about yourself!" Kirihara asked cheerfully.

Sakuno was surprised at first but answered anyway, "Uhm… well… I love to cook… and uhm… painting, too. I live with my new family, the Tezukas, with my grandma, who's the coach of Seigaku tennis team. Hmm… what else? Oh! Although this may be a bit embarrassing… my worst subject is actually English…" she said shyly.

Then, a flame of happiness lit Kirihara up, "English? Your worst subject is English? We're the same, Saku-chan! English is my worst subject, too!" He leaned on the bed railing in relaxation, "We have a lot in common, Saku-chan!"

Actually, that's the only thing you two have in common.

Sakuno laughed nervously at him, "What about you, Kirihara-san?"

"Hm?" Kirihara looked questioningly at her and replied, "Well, I've got an older sister… and my birthday is on September 25th. And this may also be embarrassing… but I still believe in Santa Claus." He laughed childishly.

Sakuno smiled at his honesty.

"Kirihara-san… anou… I know this is a bit personal… but everyone had called you 'devil'. I watched your violent play style in the courts as well… uhm… have you—"

"Yeah, it sometimes bothers me…" Kirihara paused to look seriously at Sakuno's eyes, "but it doesn't matter now since whoever that Kirihara in the court is, is also a part of the real Kirihara. If they can't accept that Kirihara, then they don't accept the real Kirihara, too."

For a moment there, Sakuno could have sworn that he looked lonely.

"I accept that Kirihara-san!" Sakuno suddenly said in a high tone, which made Kirihara jump in surprise. "I accept whatever kind of person you are! Devil or not!"

Kirihara blushed and tried to hide it by covering his face with the hand handcuffed to the bed railing. "Arigatou," Kirihara said shyly.

Sakuno smiled cutely at him.

BAM!

"SAKUNO-CHAN!" a familiar voice yelled as he banged the door open.

Kirihara and Sakuno looked questioningly at the newly-arrived Shiraishi.

Shiraishi looked like he just escaped from prison. His gray hair sticking out messily on his head as he panted like he just ran from a monster. After a dramatic pause of staring contest, other familiar men pushed Shiraishi out of the way and stepped on him to get inside the room.

"SAKUNO-CHAN!" Kin-chan said as he held Sakuno's hands (including the one that was handcuffed to Kirihara) near his chest, "Let's get out of here! There's a monster chasing after us!"

Ryoma, who managed to survive after Tezuka hit him with the Stoeger Condor, hit Kin-chan with his red racket, while a vein kept on twitching on his head. Kin-chan did not expect a racket hitting him, thus he fainted comically and turned into a chibi as he fell on Sakuno's lap.

A sweat dropped from Kirihara and Sakuno's head.

"What's going on here? Why are you all barging in like that!" Kirihara asked irritatingly.

Ryoma, Tezuka, Koharu, Yuuji, Shiraishi, Eiji, Momo, Fuji, Inui and Taka stared at Kirihara with amusement after they saw him handcuffed to the bed railing.

Then they all burst into mocking laughter.

A vein popped on Kirihara's head.

"DON'T THINK YOU CAN EVER RUN AWAY FROM ME!" a devilish voice yelled as he stopped running in front of the infirmary door. His blonde hair swaying in slow motion as shadows covered his blue eyes dramatically. He let out his _San Paku Gan _(1) and pointed the Stoeger Condor at them.

"Nathan!" Sakuno said happily as she recognized him.

The monster-like look on Nathan suddenly turned into gentleness, "Yo," he greeted his childhood friend as he waved an arm at her.

F L A S H B A C K

"_I believe Akaya needs her more than anyone else in this world."_

_Something snapped inside Nathan. He suddenly…_

_He suddenly teleported from the middle of the hallway to the end corner of it where Tezuka and the others were. He snatched Tezuka's Stoeger Condor and pointed it to Niou. Niou sweat dropped on raised both of his arms in submission. _

"_Who needs her more than anyone else in the world now?" Nathan asked threateningly as he looked at Niou._

_Niou laughed nervously._

"_Y-You?" the trickster replied jokingly._

"_Enough!" Yukimura suddenly intervened, "I apologize for my teammate's actions," he glared at the trickster as he remembered how he kissed Sakuno in front of him and Sanada, "But please, even though it really is his fault, don't point that dangerous weapon to him."_

_Nathan then pointed the revolver to Yukimura. Sanada went in front of his captain to defend him, "If ever you hurt my captain," Sanada stared coldly at Nathan, "it means you do not value your life anymore."_

"_Sanada," Yukimura smiled at his fuku-buchou's actions._

"_Che. I knew you two should just date each other," Niou whispered to himself._

_Sanada's stare suddenly felt familiar to Nathan. Ezekiel walked casually in front of Nathan and said to Sanada, "And if you hurt my president, then that also means you do not value your life."_

_That's right. That stare is the same stare Ezekiel has whenever he is seriously fighting with someone. Those stares were similar to samurais during the older eras, where swordsmanship prevails. "That Sanada Genichirou…" Nathan whispered to his vice-president, "don't underestimate him. I feel something familiar with him."_

_Ezekiel nodded. _

"_Oh yeah," Niou broke the tension between Nathan and Ezekiel and Yukimura and Sanada, "Before I forget… I mentioned I support our Junior Ace, Kirihara Akaya right?"_

_Niou earned everyone's attention._

"_The truth is, I played a trick on him and Sakuno-chan… and they're now stuck in the infirmary together. So if you want to prevent something from happening…"_

_And a gush of smoke soon filled the hallways. _

"_I WON'T LEAVE SAKUNO-CHAN IN THE HANDS OF ANOTHER MAN!" Kin-chan yelled as he ran towards the infirmary._

"_Mada mada dane," Ryoma arrogantly said as he passed Kintarou with his speed. Kintarou felt mocked and so he ran faster and caught up to Ryoma, but Ryoma also ran faster after Kin-chan caught up to him and the two were now caught in the middle of a racing game._

"_A-Anou… Koharu, Yuuji…" Shiraishi forced a laugh as he looked curiously at his teammates on either side of him, "Why are you dragging me with you?"_

"_Datte," Koharu started in a flirting tone, "Buchou should support Kin-chan, ne?"_

_Yuuji nodded and the three Shitenhouji regulars ran after their Kin-chan._

"_I won't let those Osaka representatives ruin the youthfulness of our Echizen!" Momo yelled as he ran with his co-regulars at Seigaku present at the moment._

"_Let us not let our guard down," Tezuka said as his glasses beamed._

"_Ninety percent chance that Tezuka does not support RyoSaku," Inui muttered._

"_Saa," Fuji smiled sadistically._

"_Nya," Eiji jumped, "O'chibi is the perfect man for Saku-chan, nya!"_

"_Even though you also like her?" Fuji suddenly asked. Eiji blushed and denied his best friend's accusations._

"_BURNING!" Taka yelled as he ran past his teammates, "SAVE TEZUKA'S SISTER, BABY!"_

_A vein popped on Nathan's head as he glares comically at the disappearing figures of his childhood friend's 'self-proclaimed lovers'. He huffed annoyingly and ran after them, all the while shooting random bullets as he run. This earned the regulars of Seigaku and Shitenhouji to dodge bullets while panicking as they were running towards the infirmary._

"_My oh my…" Yukimura said._

_The ones left in the hallways now were Sanada, Yukimura, Niou and Ezekiel._

E N D O F F L A S H B A C K

"I never knew you already made friends with them," Sakuno commented happily.

Nathan sweat dropped and laughed weakly, "W-Well… y-yeah… my new friends, haha."

They all glared at Nathan and his lies.

"Anyway," Sakuno raised her handcuffed hand up to gain everyone's attention, "can you help us a bit?"

"_NIOU," _they all thought threateningly in unison.

Inui's glasses beamed and he smirked in triumph. Everyone looked at him in wonder. He suddenly puts out a mug filled with whatever juice he invented from his pants… yes, HIS PANTS!

The Seigaku regulars paled.

The Shitenhouji regulars (and Kirihara) looked at it with wonder.

"Stay still," Inui ordered Sakuno and Kirihara as he approached them with the juice in his hand.

What's Inui up to?

He poured the juice into the metal object that had been keeping Kirihara and Sakuno together. Curious eyes instantly turned into fear as they noticed that the metal object suddenly MELTED.

Inui smirked.

Everyone else trembled.

The metal handcuffed actually melted upon contact with Inui Juice!

"Rikutsu ja nai (2)," Tezuka muttered.

"W-What's in that juice this time?" Kikumaru asked as he hugged Momo in fear, who hugged him back.

"I-I don't want to k-know…" Momo answered.

"Is he going to make us drink that one?" Ryoma suddenly asked.

Inui smiled evilly after hearing Ryoma.

"The truth is," Inui's glasses beamed as he let out another mug from his PANTS again, "your assumption is correct, Echizen. This juice," he raised the mug near Ryoma's face, "contains a whole lot of protein and calcium, which is necessary in a player's health," he grinned toothily, "try it."

He violently opened Ryoma's mouth by holding his cheek and poured the juice into his mouth until…

CRACK!

Sakuno instinctually pushed the mug from Inui's hand, which caused the mug to break into pieces as it fell on the floor. The liquid inside it produced smoke after being in contact with the cold floor.

The tennis players paled again.

"A-Anou," Sakuno panicked when she realized how disrespectful she was to her senpai, "G-Gomenasai!"

At that time, everyone was really thankful to what she did.

Inui sighed in disappointment, "It's okay, Ryuzaki-san," his sad face turned back into an evil grin again, "I've got plenty more!" he puts out three mugs from his pants and happily showed it to everyone, "Saa, let's have a toast."

Then, Fuji used his Tsubame Gaeshi to throw away those three mugs. Inui gaped as those three mugs filled with his creation slowly get thrown outside the infirmary window. Inui, in an attempt to save his masterpieces, jumped outside the window.

Tezuka, being the responsible student he was (and he can't lose a valuable player from his team), tried to stop the 'suicidal Inui' by grabbing his pants.

And then it happened.

Tezuka accidentally stripped Inui's pants down, revealing his butt.

And instantly, Ryoma covered Sakuno's eyes with his hands.

Inui fell down on the floor; he was unable to reach to his mugs which fell outside the window.

A horrible, horrible sight indeed.

Inui lay half naked on the floor.

Well, this is the third time it happened.

One, during the "Prince of Beach Volleyball" episode. Two, during the Yakiniku part. And three… the accident now. The Seigaku regulars had enough seeing Inui's side like that.

"A-Anou… Why are you covering my eyes, Ryoma-kun?" Sakuno asked innocently.

Ryoma sighed, "I won't allow you to be tainted."

**||~~``~~``NIOU' '~~' '~~||**

CLICK!

Niou smiled happily as he stares at the photo he took; a naked Inui.

Yukimura, Sanada, Niou and Ezekiel arrived at the infirmary in time to see Tezuka stripping down Inui's pants.

Niou turned to Ezekiel who was hugging his teddy bear timidly. He noticed that the bow the bear was wearing had some piece of paper sticking out from its middle side. Niou smirked.

He walked towards Ezekiel and 'accidentally' bumped on him, "Sorry," he apologized as he continued walking inside the infirmary to get a better view of Inui.

"Who's the trickster now, Nathaniel Schaeffer-kun," Niou whispered to Nathan as he was side by side to him and walked away from the room completely.

Nathan turned to look at Niou who was already on his way out of the room. He looked suspiciously at the trickster.

* * *

A/N: Hey, I've got three weeks spare time so I would be able to update often :3 And a long chapter for the long await! Anyway, I've got a question: Did Inui also lost his pants during the "Atobe's Gift" mini movie? I forgot, you see. If ever he did, then please add it to the list of times Inui lost his shorts or pants or whatever.

(1) San Paku Gan—it is the whites of the eyes that when stared down by it, it makes it seem like the stare is mean and cold; usually seen in Samurai-based animè during duel-to-deaths.

(2) Means, "This is illogical". This is actually Inui's usual line in the anime or manga.

Special thanks to the following for their reviews: ** Someone with a Name, fire19, BestlyThrice6, medom XXP-600, cielmikitoaloislvr, haninozuka mitsukuni, zyxel tallcing107, phoe2k, SasoLOVE111, banie, Puppylove7, Fail4Ninjas, SnowCharms, Arisato Aigis, lazygal002, ILuvPurple16, SparkXD, LilBlueBear, ChainGirl, mary, **and **Corrupted Justice. **

Please review :]


	22. Video Games

Chapter 22: Video Games

"_Who's the trickster now, Nathaniel Schaeffer-kun," Niou whispered to Nathan as he was side by side to him and walked away from the room completely._

_Nathan turned to look at Niou who was already on his way out of the room. He looked suspiciously at the trickster._

**^^''^^''^^''ViDeOgAmEs''^^''^^''^^**

Inui Sadaharu opened his eyes (behind those always-foggy glasses). He sat up and scratched his head. The possibility that something unusual happened just minutes ago was eighty-six percent. He looked around and found himself inside a messy infirmary alone.

Cue gushy wind and a random rolling tumbleweed.

"What happened here?" the data man asked himself. He looked down… and saw his _friend. _"Hn," he said understandingly, "so that's what happened. Too bad I didn't get their reactions for my precious data." He stood up and pulled his underwear and pants up as his glasses beamed.

Sakuno let out a relieved sigh. She was now walking with Tomoka, who she bumped into after she and the others left Inui. Although she still did not know what happened and why everyone didn't want Ryoma to take his hands off her eyes. He only removed his hand after they closed the door to the infirmary. She looked confusedly at everyone and they just laughed forcedly, persuading her that it was nothing important. Then, they all head their separate ways, as usual. To finish their own games, she presumed. At least she got out from another supposedly messy situation.

"So anyway, Sakuno," Tomoka started, "How many games left for you?"

"Uhm… wait a second," Sakuno fished out her game card from her school uniform's pocket and read it. There were only two games left that are not scored yet. "It seems like I only needed two games more, and I'm done."

"Really! You work fast!" Tomo beamed loudly. She went in front of Sakuno and took a look of her own game card, "I still need six games more to finish the game."

Tomoka took Sakuno's game card and skimmed through every game she played. "Your scores were all pretty high, too." Then, she noticed that she still hadn't had a score for the Video Game 'Game' yet. Tomo looked at her own game card and smiled happily when she saw that she also had the same game with her best friend, "Look, look Sakuno! Neither of us still played the Video Game 'Game' yet! Boy, that was annoying to say… Anyway, let's go together Sakuno!"

Sakuno looked at Tomoka indifferently and smiled afterwards. She nodded and read the name of the game again, "Video Game 'Game'…. It _is _kind of awkward to say."

**^^''^^''^^''ViDeOgAmEs''^^''^^''^^**

"Yawn," Ryoga said with boredom as he yawned. "Why do I always end up as a manager in games of this school," he complained to the long-dark-blue-haired girl in front of him. When he first landed a foot on this room/booth, he only intended to play a Japanese video game, but the manager thought that he wanted to enjoy the festival and left the managing to Ryoga, in exchange for allowing him to play any game he wants. After three hours, he got bored, and there they are…

Nanako smiled understandingly at Ryoga as she placed a cup of tea on his table. "Now, now. You're the one who wanted to go in this festival in the first place."

"Don't remind me. I only wanted to see Chibisuke," Ryoga said as he bowed his head on the table.

"But after the tag game, this is the only game you've been busy managing the whole time." Nanako reminded.

"I know."

"And this is pretty exciting, don't you think?" Nanako tried to encourage her 'adopted cousin'.

"But there still hasn't even one VIP gamer that played here since I became the manager."

"I heard they were all busy doing something else." Ryoga looked at Nanako as she continued, "There was even a report that there was a momentary pause for the VIP gamers. There were some sort of misunderstandings between some of the players and Sakuno-chan's friend, Nathaniel-san."

Ryoga looked as if he was thinking deeply for a while. "I see. It seems like the players won't take that Nathaniel easily after to what he did."

"But don't you think it's amazing? To have Sakuno-chan—" she was cut off when someone entered their booth. Nanako turned to the guests and greeted sweetly, "Welcome to our booth."

She stared wide-eyed at the familiar figures of Tomoka Osakada and Sakuno Ryuzaki. "My, oh my! We've been waiting for VIP gamers for about three hours already! Ryoga-san would be delighted!" Tomoka grinned and Sakuno smiled shyly. She was about to call Ryoga when a flash of dark-green hair blocked her vision for a while. When she turned around to look at Sakuno and Tomoka again, she found Ryoga holding each their hand, flirting like the womanizer he was. A vein popped on her head.

"R-YO-GA-SAN," Nanako said threateningly. Ryoga felt her dark aura and immediately released the two girls' hands. He scratched the back of his head charmingly and smiled nervously at Nanako, "N-Nana-chan! I-I wasn't doing anything! Promise!"

"Anyway," Nanako smiled charmingly (and brightly, too) at Sakuno and Tomoka who sweat dropped after seeing her beating Ryoga to a pulp with one hand. She continued to sparkle as she began explaining the rules of their game, 'Video Game 'Game'', while in the background lies the unmoving body of her adoptive cousin.

"Since you guys are VIP gamers, you will be given VIP games. This game normally just lets other visitors play online games for twenty yen per thirty minutes. But since you guys are special visitors, we have a special game reserved just for you!" she said in her normal calm and sweet voice.

"And what would that be?" Tomo asked as she placed her hands on her hips.

Nanako smiled meaningfully at them first before answering. "Role-playing game. Or RPG."

Sakuno had a fast flashback of her theatrical play earlier and paled. She's not going to do that again, is she?

Then, they heard Ryoga tsk-ed three times disappointedly. He stood up and his bruises that Nanako gave him all disappeared. "No, no, no, no Nanako-chan. Role-playing games are soooooo one minute ago. This time, we'll change the games for the gamers."

Nanako looked at Ryoga confusedly, "What do you mean?"

"I'm going to change the VIP game thingy…"

Then, familiar figures went inside their booth after Ryoga spoke (just like every game Sakuno gets herself into). They looked at the figures of Momoshiro, Kamio and Ann, who just saw each other in the hallway near their booth.

"Wah! Echizen's girlfriend is here, too!" Momo exclaimed loudly. Sakuno blushed and Tomoka looked at her teasingly.

"Anyway, I can't believe I need to play this game with you, Momoshiro! It's just supposed to be Ann-chan and me!" Kamio said irritatingly at the purple-eyed junior of Seigaku.

Momo laughed and scratched his nape, which made Kamio even angrier. He was about to tackle Momo to the ground when Ann stopped him, "Kamio-kun, this is not the time for this!" Ann looked at Nanako and the other two girls beside her. She looked apologetically at them.

**^^''^^''^^''ViDeOgAmEs''^^''^^''^^**

After the two calmed down (technically, it was only Kamio who needed to calm down), Ryoga began explaining 'his' rules for his 'new game'.

"Since this is a video game booth, there will be a need for you guys to play video games. But what fun would that be? Teenagers of your ages always play video games. You guys are the video games generation! This game would only be a piece of cake for you teenagers! That's why I planned this one." Ryoga stopped.

The gamers looked at each other confusedly. "What plan?" Momo asked.

Ryoga stood dramatically in a table. There was confetti floating around, too. He dramatically showed them a game controller.

Question mark.

"A game controller?" Nanako looked at Ryoga suspiciously, "What do you plan on doing with that?"

Ryoga smirked with their famous 'Echizen-family-arrogant-smirk'. "I will be your player, and you will be the characters in the game I'm playing."

Question mark turned into a comical vein.

"What!" Kamio and Momo protested wildly. "How dare you manipulate us like that? We won't play this game! This game is bull!"

Ann, Tomo and Sakuno (Go! Go! Girls!) simultaneously sighed.

"Okay then," Ryoga said as if agreeing with the two boys. But as he turned to the juniors, he grinned mischievously, "It means you forfeit the VIP game and you lose whatever effort you exerted for the day."

The comical vein turned into a sweat dropped.

"F-Fine!" the two yelled hesitantly. Ryoga grinned.

Soon after, another familiar people showed up. This time it was Kaidoh and Kikumaru. "Woah! Momo-chin, Saku-chan, Osakada-chan, Tachibana-imouto and Kamio! Look, look, Kaidoh, nya!"

Ryoga's grin turned into an evil smirk. "Perfect."

Nanako went closer to Ryoga and whispered to his ear, "What are you planning, Ryoga-san?"

Ryoga just smiled reassuringly at his cousin, who blushed at his charms.

"VIP gamers!" Ryoga called. "I'll be the video game player and you guys," he pointed at each and one of the gamers in front of him, "will be the characters of the video game I'm playing."

Eiji looked at Ryoga and narrowed his eyes. "Wait. You're O'chibi's brother, nyah?"

"Fshuu."

"Yeah, so what?" Ryoga answered the acrobat.

He went closer to Ryoga and whispered to his ear, "That means you support O'chibi, right? Don't do something menacing like ruining their relationship, nya!"

"That's a great idea!"

"Eh?" Kikumaru looked confusedly at Ryoga.

"The theme for the game is," insert dramatic pause here, "Dating Sim."

The sweat drop turned into blue vertical lines.

**^^''^^''^^''ViDeOgAmEs''^^''^^''^^**

Seven tanned middle school students stepped inside the lamp-lit grounds of Rikkaidai dramatically.

"We're here, finally," a fat, sumo-wrestler-look-alike said as he glared at the school grounds.

"Took us a whole day though," the tallest of the group said.

"Darn, the festival's almost over," a guy wearing a baseball cap said, "did they even invite us?"

"Dunno," the blonde one said, "but let's go in anyway."

"After all," a guy wearing eyeglasses said, "we used the money we gathered to go here in Kanagawa instead of Kyushu."

"That is because… why again?" the capped boy asked.

"To get our revenge on them!" they all yelled, except for the capped boy and the one who wears glasses.

**^^''^^''^^''ViDeOgAmEs''^^''^^''^^**

"Nana-chan, you're going to be Player2." Ryoga said as he handed Nanako a game controller.

"Uh…" Nanako took the game controller and stared at it confusedly.

"Alright!" Ryoga said cheerfully as he raised one arm up excitedly.

"He's enjoying this," Kaidoh commented as he glared at the Ryoma-look-a-like.

"Sometimes, I feel like this VIP game is just created by some person for other people's convenience," Tomo said as she crouched down.

"Not just the VIP game…. This whole story I might say!" Momo said as he sighed.

"Yeah, this story," they all looked at the YOU READERS, "is created by some insane person for other people's convenience (1)."

"Anyway, stop looking at nowhere and look at me!" Ryoga pointed to himself. "First, I'm controlling Kamio Akira." He suddenly went berserk with the controller. Kamio couldn't see 'how' Ryoga was controlling him so he just stood still. A vein popped on Ryoga's head when he saw that Kamio was not moving an inch. "What are you doing! I 'controlled' you to go to Ann Tachibana!"

Kamio blushed and went towards Ann, who was asked by Ryoga to sit in a chair inside the room.

"Now, I choose the 'talk to her' option," Ryoga said.

"Saa, what's going on here?" a smiling tensai suddenly popped out from behind Nanako who jumped in surprise. "F-Fuji-san!"

Nanako explained everything to Fuji and next thing she knew, Fuji was smiling sadistically. "Let me watch that game, Ryoga-san. Although this game is not included in my list of games, it looks fun… so at least let me observe." Ryoga stopped from grinning evilly and looked at Fuji. He gestured Fuji to come in.

"Just stay there." Ryoga said to him before going back to Kamio.

Kamio just stood in front of Ann, blushing and stuttering furiously.

"Talk to her!" Ryoga yelled.

"Uh… h-hi…"

Ryoga ran his head through his hair. "THIS IS A DATING SIM GAME! YOU ARE SUPPOSED TO FLIRT WTH HER!"

Kamio blushed and Ann just sighed again.

"If you're not going to do anything here, I'm going to mark your card zero!"

Kamio jumped a little and glared at Ryoga, "That's not fair! In dating games, the player gets to choose from sentences he was supposed to say!"

"Then give me your 'sentences options' and I'll choose one." Ryoga said.

Fuji smiled.

"M-Me! W-Why me!"

"Kamio-kun, could you just hurry it up?" Ann said impatiently.

Kamio sighed and began thinking of words to say. "Uhm… here goes… Number 1: Hi, how are you doing today? Number 2: Do you want me to buy you something? Number 3: H-How's tennis practice?"

Momo laughed mockingly at the Fudomine regular.

Ryoga thought for a moment. "Number 4." He answered.

"What? There is no Number 4!"

"Number 4 says: Let's go on a date, baby! Having a hard-on just by looking at you!" Ryoga explained.

"That's not an OPTION!" Kamio yelled angrily and stomped towards Ryoga.

"Now, what do girls do to the guy if the guy says that?" Ryoga looked at Ann.

Ann looked at Ryoga and asked first, "If I do what I think you want me to do, can I go?"

"After one more thing, then sure."

Ann sighed and went towards Kamio. Kamio looked at Ann confusedly.

_SLAP!_

Everyone stared at Ann and Kamio. Kamio slumped on the ground, unconsciously. Of course, with a visible handprint mark on his cheek. Momo laughed hysterically. And unfortunately, Eiji joined him.

"Good, good," Ryoga nodded his head.

"A-Anou… I-I don't think this is such a good idea…" Sakuno said timidly to Tomoka.

Tomoka's eyes were sparkling with amusement. "Cool! Ryoma-sama's big brother could do that! A-MA-ZING!"

Sakuno sweat dropped.

Fuji smiled yet again.

Nanako rubbed her temples.

"Next, it's Momoshiro!" Ryoga said happily. "I'm pressing the 'up' button," Momo started walking straight ahead, "now I'm pressing the 'left' button," Momo turned left, "And stop," Momo stopped just in front of Ann and an unconscious Kamio.

"Now, give me your options," Ryoga said. If one observes wisely, this game is actually controlled by the VIP gamer –slash- video game character himself. He makes up the words he wanted to say and Ryoga would be the one choosing. Well, that was Ryoga's plan from the start but he couldn't resist doing that to Kamio… and choosing 'number 4' instead. Oh well. Luck.

Momo puts his index finger under his chin and thought for a moment, "Let's see… number 1: Let's get out of here and watch the night stars. Number 2: Did you lose weight? Number 3: Do you believe in destiny?"

"Still cheesy as ever… that Momo," Eiji said.

Ryoga said, "Number 3."

Ryoga looked at Nanako. "Nana-chan, you're the one who's supposed to control the girls."

Nanako looked at her controller. Then she looked at Ann, "Your options please, Tachibana-san."

Ann sighed. She just wanted this to get over with. "Number 1: No, I don't. Number 2: Yes, I do. Number 3: Why'd you ask?"

"Number 3."

"Your options, Momo."

Momo scratched his cheek. He was beginning to blush. "Uh, number 1: I-I think that it's destiny that decided for us to meet. Number 2: Destiny loves me, for allowing me to meet you. Number 3: Everyone has a destiny. And I believe it's my destiny to meet you."

Everyone stared at Momo for a while. Who knew he knew all those cheesy lines.

"Fshuu," Kaidoh hissed, but it was obvious that he was trying to hold back his laugh.

Momo blushed and yelled at them, "I-It's j-just t-that! SHUT UP!"

"Nya, Momo the lover boy, nya!"

"Fshuu."

"Saa."

"Momo-chan-senpai, KAKOI!"

"A-Anou… s-sorry… s-senpai…"

"Number 3." Ryoga said again.

Ann blushed. "Mou, I had enough!"

Ann began walking away, while blushing. But she stopped as soon as she was in front of the exit. "H-How about we see those night stars now, Momoshiro-kun?" Ann said, not looking at anyone.

Momo blushed and stared wide-eyed at Ann first before he smiled, still blushing.

"My oh my! Tachibana-san gets easily excited with those cheesy lines!" Nanako said smilingly.

Ann blushed again. She shoved her game card to Ryoga's face. "My score."

Ryoga grinned knowingly at her. He wrote down her score and so was Momo's. Ann snatched the card back and looked at it. "10?"

"Well, the point of the dating game is to make the girl date the main guy. And you asked him out, so… it was all good." Ryoga explained.

Momo laughed forcedly and followed Ann outside.

"Those two…" Eiji nodded wisely, "Looks like they'll have fun tonight, nya!"

But to what it seems, Ryoga and Nanako were the ones who were truly having fun. And if one squints, he'll see that it was like Ryoga and Nanako talking to each other, except through their VIP gamers.

Fuji smiled. "Saa, Ryoga-san. Who's next?"

**^^''^^''^^''ViDeOgAmEs''^^''^^''^^**

"Ah!" Yukimura suddenly said in realization, which made Sanada look at him in question, "I think I forgot to invite Higa Chuu…"

Sanada looked at him with his usual stoic face, "Seems like you did. But they probably won't make it anyway, given that they are still stuck in the temple."

Yukimura smiled at him, "Sou. Even if we invited them, they still need enough money to return to Okinawa. I think they'll decline the offer."

After seeing the naked Inui 'incident', Yukimura announced the final VIP game to commence at seven o'clock. Therefore, those who still hasn't finish their respective VIP games need to finish it quickly, or they won't be able to participate in the final game. The final game will be the last game that every VIP gamer will play. Everyone needs to participate, just like in 'The Most Important Game' before. Everyone in the infirmary before dispersed and went on playing their own games, including Sakuno who was now playing the game Ryoga invented. That is why the Rikkaidai tennis club regulars gathered inside the meeting office to discuss the final game.

"Anyway," the irritated Junior Ace interrupted, "let's put those Higa Chuu students aside!"

"Sou," Marui said before blowing his gum, "let's just plan the final game now."

"What is the final game anyway?" Jackal asked.

Yukimura smiled at them. "I think the final game is pretty creative… coming from me, at least," he added hesitantly.

"Piyo".

"So just tell us what you have in mind, buchou!" Kirihara asked irritatingly again. "I want to go to Sa-chan now and enjoy the festival with her!"

"That's right. The time now is exactly six in the evening. Akaya had only one hour left before the final game that the VIP gamers will be participating at," the data man, Yanagi Renji said. "And Ryuzaki Sakuno is also a participant," he added.

Yukimura forced a smile this time as a vein popped on his forehead. "Don't worry, Akaya. We'll also participate in the final game."

Sanada looked at him curiously, "Yukimura… what's the final game you had in mind?"

Yukimura looked at his teammates seriously.

"Peep-peep-peep-peep-peep-peep (2)."

Everyone looked at each other confusedly. "W-What's creative about that, buchou?"

Yukimura's serious face returned to its gentle one again, "Except… the peep-peep-peep-peep will be peep-peep-peep."

!

"E-EH!"

"I call it, 'Peep-Peep-Peep-Peep-Peep-Peep-Peep-Peep'," he said gently.

BANG!

Someone made a grand entrance in the meeting office.

"Oi Rikkaidai!" the fat one from before said in his goon-like facial expression, "LET US JOIN THAT Peep-peep-peep!"

Everyone eyed them curiously.

"Ah!" Niou stood up as he recognized them, "Higa Chuu da!"

The Higa Chuu students approached Yukimura, who was sitting in the middle of the table, viciously. Sanada tried to defend him but Yukimura asked everyone to stay still.

"Hey you so-called 'Child of God'!" Kai, the capped one said in a terrorizing tone, "how dare you not invite us in this festival of yours!"

And the Rikkaidai regulars were just talking about them a while ago…

Yukimura, who was looking seriously at them before, smiled gently, "Good. Higa Chuu finally arrived. The final game is now going according to plan!"

Didn't he just say he forgot to invite Higa Chuu a while ago? Everyone thought.

Higa Chuu students obviously were taken aback.

"Welcome to Rikkai Daigaku Fuzoku Founding Festival," Yukimura said as he stood up and faced the captain of the opposing team, Kite Eishirou, "And… please participate in the final game. I need you especially for the final game, Kite Eishirou."

Kite and Yukimura looked at each other sternly. "I insist, Kite-kun."

**^^''^^''^^''ViDeOgAmEs''^^''^^''^^**

"Next would be," Ryoga pointed his index finger at Eiji, "Kikumaru Eiji!"

"And Nanako-chan's next player is Sakuno-chan!"

Eiji smiled childishly but stopped abruptly upon realizing the situation. He was a massive fan of RyoSaku, heck, he even _believes _he _exists _to get those two together! But by what Ryoga is doing, his O'chibi might misinterpret and begins to hate him for stealing his _girlfriend. _He panicked inwardly and looked at Ryoga. He walked towards Ryoga and said to him in a low voice, "You are O'chibi's brother! Why are you doing this?"

Eiji saw Ryoga doing something with the controller. "The game has started already," Ryoga said, ignoring what Eiji said. "I'm pressing the 'up' button, and then the 'right' button, and now the 'down' button." Eiji turned around, just like what Ryoga 'controlled him to do'.

"Now I'm holding the 'down' button." Ryoga said in a bored voice. Eiji walked straight ahead. And stopped just in front of Ryuzaki.

"Your options?"

Kikumaru gulped. He needs to think this one carefully. His usual partner in crime, cough Momo cough, left him with the situation and so he could not help him this time. At least, Ryoga only _needed _to choose whatever option's he'll give him. So, if he gives Ryoga options that may not end them together, O'chibi won't be mad at him!

What a simpleton.

But wait. Ryoga might choose 'number 4' also known as the 'game over' option. Sigh. He needed to risk it all.

"Number 1: How's your boyfriend doing? Number 2: I planned a perfect date for you and your boyfriend! Number 3: I called your boyfriend and said that he wanted to meet you tonight!"

Ryoga smirked. Looks like he was in for a challenge this time. If he chooses number 4 immediately, their game will end. And Ryoga was having too much fun to end their game yet. "Number… uh… 1."

Nanako looked at Sakuno, who blushed upon their eye contact.

"A-Anou… n-number 1: H-He's d-doing fine. Number 2: H-He… a-anou… h-he uh… is n-not w-well…? N-Number 3: H-He—"

"—He broke up with me," Ryoga finished for Sakuno.

"H-Hey! T-That's not fair, nya! Saku-chan's supposed to make her own options!" Eiji protested.

"She was taking too long. Proceed." Ryoga said.

"Number 3," Nanako answered.

"Wait! That's not her third option! Give her a chance, nya!"

"Your options, Kikumaru," Ryoga interrupted.

Eiji tsk-ed. He needs to clean up this mess. "Number 1: You better get back to him! Number 2: Give him a second chance! Number 3: He really loves you, nya!"

The three things he said just all meant the same.

"Number 5." Ryoga chose.

"EH! Number 5? What's that, nya?"

"Number 5 says: Then, can I be your boyfriend?"

Eiji and Sakuno blushed.

"Your options, Sakuno-chan." Nanako said, ignoring Eiji and Sakuno's protest. The managers were definitely cheating.

"U-Uh… number 1: G-Gomen… I-I—"

"Number 2," Nanako answered immediately. Ryoga and Nanako were _definitely _cheating. "It says: Sure, I would love to. I want to forget my old boyfriend."

Ryoga grinned. Nanako's finally on his side. "Then, Number 1" he answered, even without Eiji's options, "Says: I'll make you forget about him. I'll love you forever and I will never ever hurt you!"

Nanako smiled. Ryoga and Nanako were now facing each other, "Number 1: I'll also love you. In fact, I've been in love with you even before my old boyfriend and I met."

"Number 6: That's why I'm here to take you back. I'm glad you broke up with him."

"Number 3: Me, too. He was always hurting m—"

"ENOUGH!" The two stopped their playing and stared at the panting Eiji in front of them. "Mou! What kind of managers are you! You guys weren't even listening, nya!" Eiji was close to tears.

Fuji opened his eyes. No matter how much fun he felt while watching them, he still felt a bit guilty for doing that to his best friend.

But…

Eiji should just be true to himself. The acrobat likes her, and he just kept on hurting himself for supporting their freshman prodigy with her.

"K-Kikumaru-senpai…" Sakuno looked at Eiji worriedly.

Kaidoh and Tomoka looked at each other.

Sakuno fished out her hanky from her pocket and wiped her senpai's tears gently. Eiji and everyone were surprised by her acts. Eiji blushed furiously. "M-Mou! You should be doing this to O'chibi, nya! Not me…"

"It's only natural to do this, senpai."

Eiji's heart softened. The way it softened the first time the two met. He remembered the time when he was still a junior in middle school, last year, to be précised. Her grandmother introduced her to the team. She was still a sixth grader back then. He was practicing doubles with Oishi when he got hurt and almost broke his knee. Sakuno came to the picture then and comforted him. He was almost at tears, and she wiped away his tears of frustration just like what she was doing right now.

Somehow, she always wipes it away before it falls down…

"G-Gomen," Nanako apologized but Ryoga kept his pride.

"Mou!" Eiji yelled. He stomped towards the exit after he got his score and yelled, "I'M TELLING O'CHIBI WHAT YOU'VE DONE, RYOGA!" And then, he ran off.

Fuji sighed and forced a smile. He watched Sakuno get her score, too and went towards Tomoka. Tomoka patted her back and the two smiled at each other.

"Okay, that leaves you two," Ryoga looked at Tomoka and Kaidoh.

"This time, let the girl talk first." Nanako said. Ryoga agreed and the game proceeds. "Your options, Osakada-san."

"The goal of this game is to make the main characters date each other, right? Okay then," Tomo punched the air in excitement, "Number 1: Go out with me. Number 2: Go out with me. Number 3: Go out with me!"

Kaidoh sweat dropped.

"T-There wasn't any option at all, Osakada-san," Nanako said as a sweat rolled down on her cheek.

Sakuno laughed weakly at her friend's bluntness.

"Pressing the 'up' button," Ryoga said. Kaidoh hissed and hesitantly approached Tomo. "What number do you choose, Nanako?"

Nanako sighed. "It all meant the same thing… but, I guess number 2."

"Options, Kaidoh," Ryoga looked at Kaidoh expectantly, who was becoming more embarrassed by the moment.

"Fshuu, do I really have to do this? I'll accept a no-point score in the game."

Fuji looked at Kaidoh sadistically. Kaidoh paled. Then, Fuji began taking out some sort of a shiny, metal thingy. Looks kind of like a… _gulp _knife.

Kaidoh sweat continuously, "Number 1: Sure, let's go. Number 2: Let's go. Number 3: Let's go."

Ryoga and Nanako looked at each other. Their final gamers were even blunter than they expected. They wrote perfect scores for the two and the VIP gamers left their booth.

"Saa," Fuji's voice echoed sadistically throughout the room.

_Happy Halloween._

**^^''^^''^^''ViDeOgAmEs''^^''^^''^^**

"Okay, I admit! That video game 'game' was really fun!" Ryoga said as he stretched his arms up. The real manager of the game came back and took over his position again, allowing Ryoga to leave the booth freely. Nanako smiled at him.

Then, the two remembered their _conversation _when Eiji and Sakuno were still their players. They invented words of their own and appeared as if they were talking to each other. The two blushed and looked away.

"Y'know… I-I only said those words to tease that Kikumaru guy." Ryoga said as he continued blushing.

"M-Me, too."

The two stole a glance at each other and blushed again.

Then, they heard noises coming from a room. The voices seemed familiar. And they found themselves peeking through the meeting room of the Rikkaidai regulars. The two eavesdropped on their conversation.

After their conversation ended, the Higa Chuu students left the room, and Nanako and Ryoga found a safe place to hide. After the Higa Chuu students left, they continued on eavesdropping on Rikkai's conversation.

And they were talking about the final game.

Ryoga and Nanako looked at each other.

TO BE CONTINUED!

**^^''^^''^^''ViDeOgAmEs''^^''^^''^^**

A/N: Hope you liked this chapter :D I may not be able to update in a while again that's why I made this chapter long T.T Sorry for the grammatical errors and spelling mistakes. BTW, I only added _Happy Halloween _for that part because Fuji was really scary T.T And it only meant that… I wanted to greet you guys. But that doesn't mean that the day is happening at Halloween for the fic. Oh, and I'd be closing the **poll **sometime this week so please vote while you still can :)

(1) Got that one from an episode in the OVA, when they suddenly became Beach Volleyball Club Regulars instead of Tennis Club Regulars. I love that episode XD.

(2) To add more suspense, I decided not to tell what the final game is yet. Peep-peep-peep symbolizes the censorship of the words related to what the final game is. Just like in that same episode in the OVA. But don't worry, I'll de-peep-esize it in the next chapter :]

Thank you everyone for reviewing: **AnimaniacXOX, animegleek, Someone with a Name, ****cielmikitoaloislvr****, ****ToonyTwilight****, ****SasoLOVE111****, ****patrengkee****, ryosaku eichisaki, ****Puppylove7****, ****ILuvPurple16****, ****Kazuki Ruki**, and **SnowRider14**

DISCLAIMER _ALWAYS_ APPLIES

Please review :]

…or else XD Kidding!

Next time (forgot to put one last chap): Ezekiel got a one-on-one talk (sorta) with Sakuno. Sakuno lost her last VIP game. She decided to watch her other senpais who were still busy playing their own games. When the clock reached 7, everyone gathered at Peep-peep-peep to hear what Yukimura's final game is. And Yukimura revealed that the final game is actually peep-peep-peep! Find out what the hell that peep-peep-peep is in the next chapter (or the next one after that)!


	23. Thirty Minutes Left

Chapter 23: Thirty Minutes Left

Nathan and Ezekiel were walking around the corridors when the latter spoke, "Kaicho, the final game for VIP gamers starts at seven o'clock, while the closing ceremony for the festival starts at nine," he said as he read the paper on his hand.

Nathan nodded in reply.

"K-Kaicho?"

"Sakuno…" Nathan paused, making Ezekiel look at him with confusion, "have you seen the way she looks at Echizen Ryoma back in the infirmary?" he said in an annoyed tone.

Ezekiel then inwardly panicked, "W-Why? D-Do you think Ryuzaki-san l-likes that chibi?"

Nathan bit his thumb in annoyance. "Find out who she likes, NOW!" he ordered.

Ezekiel looked at his master, teary-eyed, "B-But how!"

"I-I don't know! Just do it!" he pushed Ezekiel towards a random room and left him there, "If you fail to know who she likes, I'm going to kill Teddy Bear," he added as he was about to turn into a corner. He needed to go to somewhere important anyway. And he didn't need Eze to come.

Ezekiel curled up in a little ball of sadness.

Coincidentally, when he turned around, he found himself inside the archery room, where Sakuno was in. She separated ways with Tomoka and the others after the Video Game 'Game' since Tomo had other games to play.

"R-Ryuzaki-san!" he called excitedly, which startled Sakuno and made her miss the bull's eye.

"That's too bad, Ryuzaki-chan," the manager called as he took out Sakuno's game card and wrote her score in.

Sakuno let out her tongue playfully and laughed shyly, "Clumsy me…" Her last VIP game is actually the archery game which she was supposed to play earlier. But because of her clumsiness, she bumped her head on a concrete wall and Kirihara found her and took her to the infirmary. (Based on Chapter 17: That moment with her)

Sakuno then remembered Ezekiel and turned to him, and got surprised when she saw him looking frightened.

"K-Kaicho is going to kill me! I-I accidentally made Ryuzaki-san lose the VIP game! H-He'll definitely, definitely kill me!" he said in a terrified tone.

"Anou, Ezekiel-san?"

"RYUZAKI-SAN!" Ezekiel yelled and quickly grabbed her wrist. "Come with me!"

Sakuno looked at him questioningly but nodded anyway. She let him drag her somewhere. "Ezekiel-san, where to?"

"At least I need to know who she likes, before letting Kaicho find out that I accidentally made her lose a game!" Ezekiel murmured to himself.

He timidly pushed her inside a classroom and closed the door after he got inside.

"I'll be straightforward with you, Ryuzaki-san," he said seriously and held her hand. "Tell me—"

"Don't you lay a hand on her," they heard a voice say from nowhere. Sakuno and Ezekiel looked around to see where the voice was coming from. Then, they saw movements coming from behind the teacher's table. A familiar guy got up and yawned, "If you don't want my whole school running after you."

Ezekiel and Sakuno's eyes widened at the sight of the sleepyhead regular member of Hyotei tennis team. "Atobe's going to destroy you if he found out," Jirou added and stood up.

"J-Jirou Akutagawa… you were sleeping in this room the whole time?" Ezekiel stuttered.

Jirou puts on his bored, sleepy look and nodded, "Got tired from the tag game. Got thrown out from the Host Club."

Sakuno smiled at him.

Jirou noticed this and grinned toothily at her. "Yo, Sakuno-chan!" He walked towards her and pulled her to him. "Can you be my pillow tonight?"

Sakuno's whole face flushed.

Jirou sat down, with Sakuno still in his arms. He leaned his back on the wall and pressed Sakuno closer to him. "Kinda sleepy today…"

Ryuzaki Sakuno turned into a human tomato.

Of course, Ezekiel has to interrupt, or else Nathan will get mad at him. He tried to pull Sakuno away from Jirou but Jirou was already asleep and he held Sakuno tightly.

Ezekiel sighed, "R-Ryuzaki-san, c-can't you pull yourself away from him?"

"B-But… h-he's sleeping… I-I might i-interrupt h-him…" she timidly answered.

"Demo Sakuno!" Ezekiel protested. And after he realized what he just said, he blushed. After all, he never called her by her first name before, no formalities nonetheless! He turned his head down, with his bangs covering his eyes. "G-Gomen… I didn't mean to be informal," he said apologetically.

Sakuno did not realize Ezekiel calling her by her first name so she just shrugged. She pulled away from Jirou slightly and turned her head to Ezekiel, "O-Oh right… you were telling me something before Akutagawa-san showed up, right?"

Ezekiel blushed and scratched his cheek with his index finger. He was ordered by Nathaniel to find out who Sakuno likes… and he needs to finish this 'quest' so that Nathan will spare Teddy Bear's life. "I-I want to know… if you like somebody… I-If you're i-in love with s-someone else a-already…"

Seriousness filled Sakuno's brown orbs. "Yes," she answered truthfully.

Ezekiel's heart beat fastened, "M-May I have the honor of knowing who?"

But Sakuno remained silent.

"C-Can I guess who it is?"

Sakuno nodded shyly, and a bit red.

"Uhm…" Ezekiel racked his brain to think of someone who she possibly likes. "A-Atobe Keigo?" he started but Sakuno did not show any response, "Anou… K-Kirihara Akaya-kun?" she still remained silent and unmoving, "A-Akutagawa Jirou?" Sakuno sighed. "I-Is it Jirou-san then?" But Sakuno shook her head. "Oh. Eto… Fuji Syuusuke-san? Tanaka Youhei? Kouhei? Tooyama Kintarou-kun? Ootori Choutarou?" Sakuno gently removed Jirou's arms that are wrapped around her waist and stood up to face Ezekiel, "No." She replied.

And Ezekiel continued to guess, "Y-Yukimura Seiichi-san? Moshikashite (1) S-Sanada Genichirou-san?"

Sakuno smiled at him and shook her head.

"K-Kaicho! It's Kaicho then, right? Nathaniel Schaeffer-sama!" Ezekiel suddenly turned excited but got disappointed when Sakuno shook her head again.

Then he remembered Nathan getting mad about Echizen Ryoma, which is the whole basis of his quest. "Could it be… Echizen Ryoma?"

"Maybe," Sakuno finally answered.

Right then and there, Ezekiel felt the ground swallowing him.

Is she joking?

"Ah… Marui Bunta?"

"Maybe," she replied again.

Okay, she is joking with him.

"Ryuzaki-san!" he complained, "Please tell me the truth!"

Sakuno smiled sweetly at him. "Okay then."

Ezekiel gulped, "O-Okay… let me start again…" He recited every guy he mentioned earlier but Sakuno just nodded at all of them.

Ezekiel turned into a little ball of sadness, "Ryuzaki-san… now you're just playing with me…"

"Demo," the girl blinked innocently (and cutely, too) "I like all of them."

"Ryuzaki-san!" he teleported from wherever he was to Sakuno's front. He held her hand with his own and looked determinedly at her, "What I mean is… who YOU'RE IN LOVE WITH!"

Sakuno sweat dropped. "Hai, hai. I'm just joking—"

**ThIrTyMiNuTeSlEfT**

Nanako and Ryoga were walking side-by-side, both looking disturbed.

A little while ago, they eavesdropped on the Rikkai's meeting regarding the final game after Higa Chuu left. Because of that, they've found out what the final game is truly for. Nanako turned her head slightly to look at Ryoga, who seemed to be deep in his thoughts.

Ryoga noticed Nanako looking at him so he turned his head to face her and grinned charmingly, "Wazzup, Nana-chan?"

Nanako turned her head away sadly. "The final game… I-It's just… I mean…" she trailed off.

Ryoga shook his head in disappointment. "Come on Nana-chan! It's our fault in the first place why we know that kind of thing right now."

"It's better for us not to know it… but what can we do? It's already in my mind…"

Ryoga scratched his head and looked at the ground. "Y-Yeah…"

Nanako stopped walking and Ryoga noticed that there are tears already forming on her eyes. He panicked and quickly thought of a way to stop her tears. "N-Nanako! L-Look! Yukimura… h-he's the one who made the final game right? I-I'm sure he has something on his mind! He's definitely planning something! I mean, why else would he continue the final game if he has no other plans right?"

Nanako narrowed her brows stubbornly. "Still… what if—"

Ryoga playfully tapped Nanako's nose. She looked at him confusedly and he smiled gently, "Everything is going to be fine, Nanako."

She stared at him for a while before exhaling deeply. She felt relieved when Ryoga looked at her like that somehow. And besides, the way he called her name made her heart beat in happiness.

**ThIrTyMiNuTeSlEfT**

Ezekiel followed Sakuno even after she refused on telling who she really likes. She was already roaming around random rooms in the building and he just kept on chasing after her.

"Ryuzaki-san!" he called once more and walked side-by-side to her. "Tell me who it is! Please!"

Sakuno opened a door and saw the Seigaku regulars singing in the karaoke room.

Sakuno and Ezekiel sweat dropped.

"_**itsumade mo itsumade mo kawaranai omoi wo kagayaki ni sono sugata asayaka ni utsushiteru kotoba ni shite kanaeteku afuredasu mirai wo subete JUMP INTO THE DREAMS JUMP INTO THE DREAMS**_," Momoshiro Takeshi ended his song head held high.

Eiji cheered. "Nyah! So that's how Momo-chin is after his date with Ann-chan!"

Others stared. "Yeah, a few minutes of watching the stars together… not much of a date."

The manager of the room cleared his throat. "Okay, Momoshiro-san, you're score is—"

Momo laughed hysterically. "Of course I know my score is a perfect 10!"

The manager stared at him unbelievably. "Put the 0 first before the 1. That's your score."

Momo looked at him confusedly. Then, he mentally rearranged the numbers according to what the manager asked him to. "0 first before 1… that means…" Momo's eyes popped out of its socket. "I ONLY GET A POINT!"

Kaidoh hissed.

Fuji chuckled.

Eiji laughed. "Nyah, only Fuji got the highest point among us!"

Inui's glasses beamed as he grinned. "But it was worth seeing Tezuka singing for my precious data."

The regulars turned their heads to Tezuka.

The stoic captain glared at them.

They turned their heads back around. "Pfft!" they all tried their best to suppress their laugh.

The manager of the game noticed Sakuno. "AH! Ryuzaki Sakuno-san!" he said cheerfully and walked towards her. "How are you?"

Sakuno smiled at him. He was the manager of the Karaoke room (based from Chapter 3: The angel that will change the devil within him). This is where she got her tickets that enabled her to participate in games for free. This is also where Kirihara gave her an angel figurine. And of course, this is also where she got most of her fanboys.

She looked at Ryoma who smirked at her in return.

She blushed and looked away.

Ezekiel noticed this and got suspicious.

**ThIrTyMiNuTeSlEfT**

"Everyone," Yukimura called authoritatively. He stood up from his chair and looked at his teammates seriously. "It's almost time. Let's prepare now."

Everyone else stood up from their chair in a serious demeanor.

After the Higa Chuu left, Yukimura explained to them what the Final Game is really about. It's not just to end the VIP game in general… it's something more serious than that that they need to take it really seriously.

They all could just hope that Yukimura's plan will work.

But of course, there was no doubt that it would work, since his plan was utterly palpable and it'd go the way he wanted… but the matter was… will they make it in time? Will the seven chosen ones notice it? If they notice it, what would they do? So far, Yukimura is the only one who had the plan yet. And they all needed to keep their mouths shut if they don't want the owner of the University expelling them.

Marui and Kirihara even went along with it, despite their feelings for a certain girl.

They all went out of the room dramatically.

In a split second, they were standing in the middle of the tennis courts.

Yukimura turned to his teammates. They looked at him with determination and the demigod automatically knows that they're already ready. He took his phone and called Niou, who went to the Audio Room to announce the commencement of the final game to the VIP gamers.

"Go, Niou," Yukimura signalled on the other line.

Niou smirked. "Aye aye captain," he replied and turned his phone off. He turned to the machinery in the audio room and pressed a button.

**ThIrTyMiNuTeSlEfT**

"Hora hora MINNA!"

The people around the University heard a cheerful voice coming from the speakers hanging around the whole premises.

"This announcement is for the VIP gamers! So if you're not a gamer, then don't listen!" Niou said cheerfully.

Ezekiel stared at the speaker in panic. The final game is about to start! And he didn't even get a clue on who Sakuno truly likes is! His Kaicho is going to kill him! Kill him slowly and painfully! Wait a minute… where is his Kaicho?

Momo rested his right arm on Ryoma's head, who glared irritatingly in him in return. "That's Niou-san's voice right? The final game is about to begin I suppose!"

Fuji looked at his watch. "You're right. It's almost seven."

Sakuno worriedly looked at her senpai-tachi.

"ANYWAY!" Niou shouted once more. "All of you guys, finished with their games or not finished, go to the tennis courts as immediately as possible! The coordinators of the final game, which is the Rikkai tennis club regulars, are already there, waiting for you VIP players! Yukimura-buchou announced to us earlier that the final game is—"

Niou smirked reminiscing their earlier meeting. Ah, the final game. It _was _pretty creative. He continued his announcement, "—never mind. Seiichi-chan will announce it to you guys later. So, see you at the tennis courts minna!"

And the speakers went off.

Eiji pouted. "Mou! He didn't tell us what the final game is about! He made us expect!"

Ryoma stared at him with his usual poker face. "If you think about it, maybe it'll be a tennis game since he wanted us in the courts."

Fuji smiled. "Saa. All of the VIP gamers are tennis players right? What better way to end the day than to play tennis?"

Oishi and the others nodded in agreement.

Sakuno stood shyly in front of them. "S-Senpai-tachi… s-should we go to t-the tennis courts then?"

The Seigaku regulars smiled at her. They nodded determinedly.

"Let's go!"

**ThIrTyMiNuTeSlEfT**

VIP gamers stood randomly around the tennis courts of the university. They waited impatiently for Yukimura to come and announce the final game. Heck, Niou said that the coordinators are already there waiting for them, right? Well then, where the hell are they! Some of them had either completed all the games or only came there to witness the final game commence. The night sky was already dark, and only the moon served as light to the city. They all looked everywhere, since the tennis grounds were too dark for them to see anything.

The Rikkaidai tennis club regular members made a grand entrance in the middle of the courts. They came in one by one as spotlights hit on them. The other gamers stared wide-eyed at the last two persons who walked towards the courts dramatically. Atobe smirked at the lack of magnificence of the Rikkaidai regulars' entrance. He was sure he could do better than that.

When the captain and vice-captain of the said team stopped in the middle, the tennis courts were suddenly lit with bright (and blinding) light coming from the power supply of the courts.

A random guy, most likely a tennis club member, handed Yukimura a microphone. Yukimura thanked the guy and began his announcement. "Is everyone here? All VIP gamers, the final game is about to start. Please come at the tennis grounds immediately."

"Latecomers should not be given the opportunity to participate." Sanada announced harshly, which Yukimura did not approve.

"Now, now Sanada. Everyone deserves a second chance. Just like Kite-kun from Higa Chuu."

Every VIP gamers looked at each other confusedly. As far as they know, Kite Eishirou was the captain of Higa Chuu… whose members were supposed to be at that temple in Kansai, near Shitenhouji right now.

Then, they saw the group of Higa students standing with the other gamers. All of them were looking irritatingly.

"Anyway," Yukimura got everyone's attention, "Let me explain what the final game is."

_Flashback_

"_What is the final game anyway?" Jackal asked._

_Yukimura smiled at them. "I think the final game is pretty creative… coming from me, at least," he added hesitantly._

"_Piyo"._

"_So just tell us what you have in mind, buchou!" Kirihara asked irritatingly again. "I want to go to Sa-chan now and enjoy the festival with her!"_

"_That's right. The time now is exactly six in the evening. Akaya had only one hour left before the final game that the VIP gamers will be participating at," the data man, Yanagi Renji said. "And Ryuzaki Sakuno is also a participant," he added._

_Yukimura forced a smile this time as a vein popped on his forehead. "Don't worry, Akaya. We'll also participate in the final game."_

_Sanada looked at him curiously, "Yukimura… what's the final game you had in mind?"_

_Yukimura looked at his teammates seriously._

"_Tennis Competition"._

_Everyone looked at each other confusedly. "W-What's creative about that, buchou?" _

_Yukimura's serious face returned to its gentle one again, "Except… the tennis players will be cosplaying."_

_!_

"_E-EH!"_

"_I call it, 'Cosplay Tennis Competition," he said gently._

_BANG!_

_Someone made a grand entrance in the meeting office._

"_Oi Rikkaidai!" the fat one from before said in his goon-like facial expression, "LET US JOIN THAT Tennis Game!"_

_Flashback end_

"This final game will be called 'Cosplay Tennis Competition'. It means we are having tennis games while wearing an outfit that I chose especially for each and one of us."

Everyone suddenly became confused.

"The tennis games will be divided into seven groups. And those seven groups will have 11 players each. And since there are only 75 _acceptable _players, two groups will have only 10 players. Now, I know all the groups will have uneven games, that's why the rule is… defeat everyone. If you defeat everyone, you'll win your games for your group. And because there are seven groups, it means that there are only seven winners. And the seven winners will be allowed to join the last step for the final game."

"So in short, this will only be the elimination round," Shishido asked rudely.

Yukimura nodded.

"Acceptable players?" Tomoka asked irritatingly. "What are the _unacceptable _players have to do for the final game, then? It'll be unfair not to let us play!"

Marui inwardly smirked. This final game is not just simply to end the VIP games. It's more than that. He frowned when he remembered what the final game really is about… and what the winner of the game will really do. It was really unfair, but the Rikkai tennis team could only rely on Yukimura's plan to _stop Rikkai University's plan. _

Ann Tachibana, the ichinen trio, Dan Taichi and Sakuno Ryuzaki looked at each other. They knew they were the ones Yukimura referred to as _unacceptable _players. Nanako and Ryoga also went to the courts to watch the final game. Nanako's eyes glistened with understanding. If Yukimura let them play the game, then his plan might not work out. Especially if Sakuno was put into one of the groups. Her opponents will definitely let her win. Yukimura purposely divided the games into seven groups after all.

Ryoga looked at Nanako. They were around the tennis team's meeting office when they heard about Yukimura's plan. Higa Chuu just left the office then and Yukimura explained to his teammates the purpose of the final game. No one but the Rikkaidai tennis club regulars and he and Nanako know the real purpose.

"Since the start, there is no Final Game. This is just that guy's way to…" Ryoga muttered.

The Child of God answered Tomoka, "You guys do not have a final game. The games that you last played for the day will be considered your final game. So that means, you're unlucky if you lost your final game."

Sakuno paled. She failed her archery game because of Ezekiel earlier… does that mean that she's going to lose, and all of her efforts for the day will be wasted?

"That's just unfair!" Momo complained lazily.

"Wait. What's the last step for the seven winners of the elimination round?" Sengoku asked.

"That'll only be announced after the games and after I call the winners." He said mysteriously.

Now, everyone was curious as to what the last step for the final game will be.

Everything's going according to plan, Sanada thought. He looked at the piece of paper he was carrying. Written on it was the list of players in each group. He paid close attention to seven names camouflaged with other names in every group. Those names were the ones they needed for their plan to work.

"I have the list of games written in that board," Yukimura pointed a bulleting board near the locker room.

"Now," Yukimura's eyes sparkled with excitement, "Let the Showdown begin."

And the clock strikes seven.

TO BE CONTINUED!

**

* * *

**

A/N: Okay, nothing much happened for today's chapter… oh well XD Did you guys get the final game? If not, please inform me! I'll answer the questions next chapter. What the final game is _for _will be answered next chapter! I hope you guys are looking forward to it! Oh yeah, YAY ME! I didn't update until after April! I figured I should update sooner since… you know it's already been months. Oh, and the fic's going to end soon. But I planned on updating the last chapter on May20, the fic's birthday. That'd be two to three chapters from now. I hope I get past 300 reviews (crosses finger). My next update will be on April! So, see you guys till then.

Anyway, the votes are in! And I know who Sakuno is going to end up with! That's why I planned this final game the way it is! And if you guys noticed, where did Nathan go? Haha. See you guys next chappie!

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE REVIEWS! **cielmikitoaloislvr**, **Someone with a Name**, **AlphaSigma**, **RyoSaku avid fan17**, **J**, **Kazuki Ruki**, **ILuvPurple16**, **ChocoholicAddict22**, **SasoLOVE111**, **AnimaniacXOX**, **haninozuka mitsukuni**, **ScarletMoon**, **animegleek**, **Puppylove7**, **b2st**, **wow**, **chained2love**, **Baka-no-desu-21**, **maya4yuki** and **jadeismycolor.**

(1) "Could it be possible-"

As always, DISCLAIMER applies.

Please visit **ryosakufandom. webs. com** and register :)

Next time: Each was given their costumes. The games started. Seven legendary players dominated. Seven legendary players are what Yukimura needed. Seven legendary players that will change everything. And Nathan appears.


	24. The Final Game Part I

Chapter 24: The Final Game Part I

_Yukimura Seiichi was called earlier by the owner of Rikkaidai. He talked to the demigod about his plans and how the VIP games will be included as an important part of the closing ceremony for the festival._

_As the University's owner kept on explaining him his plans on what will happen at the end of the festival, Yukimura's mind went haywire. His eyes widened in alertness. His usual calm demeanor began to melt. _

_The demigod excused himself politely after the director of the University finished telling him about his plans. But the tennis captain was inwardly panicking behind his unusually stiff body. _

_He saw Sanada standing in front of him with questioning eyes. He was worried for his buchou and wondered what announcement the director made that the tennis captain was suddenly looking disturbed._

_Yukimura forced a reassuring smile but it faded as soon as it came. "Sanada…" he bit his lip in slight irritation. After all, it was his idea to have the VIP game in the first place. It was also his idea to form a final game to end the VIP game._

_But it wasn't his idea to make the final game a part of Nathan's…_

"Yukimura," Sanada sternly called. The buchou halted his thoughts about the earlier events and looked at his fuku-buchou.

"What is it, Sanada?"

"Everyone's costumes are already prepared," he replied. Then he added in a low voice, "Including the seven one's."

Yukimura smiled weakly. "I see. Thank you." He looked around and saw everyone either complaining about their costumes or simply ignoring them. "We should get ready, too."

Yukimura started walking away.

Sanada followed his movements.

The final game, also know as 'The Cosplay Tennis Competition', was originally Yukimura's plan to end the VIP games. But due to some circumstances, it was now revised to not only end the VIP games, but to also cover up Yukimura's new plan to stop the University's plans.

Because of that, the Rikkai tennis team will also participate in the final game.

It all needed to go according to the demigod's plan.

The plan was risky, and inaccurate, but it would surely work… at least for the elimination round of the final game. He needed to, dare he say it, get rid of some unwanted tennis players. They'll only be a bother.

"_Sanada…" Yukimura called to him. The fuku-buchou noticed Yukimura's slightly irritated face. He began to get suspicious on what the director said to Yukimura to make him look like this._

_Yukimura began explaining to him what the director said to him and what he should do for the end of the festival. After Sanada heard all of it, he also began to get irritated._

"_How illogical of him. He's just using us," Sanada commented._

"_I know," Yukimura nodded. "But at least… we must look like we're following them, and we're doing according to what they want."_

_Sanada narrowed his brows. "'Must look like?'"_

_The captain nodded. "Of course we're not going to follow his plans. This is for Sakuno-san after all!"_

_Sanada understood immediately. "Now, what do you have in mind?"_

_Yukimura was looking like he was in a deep thought for a second before he turned to face Sanada directly. "We're lucky that the final game is not planned all throughout yet. Because of that, we can revise the final game and plan accordingly."_

_The emperor nodded. "In addition to that, we must not look like we're planning something else."_

"_We need to make the final game look as innocently as possible."_

_Yukimura and Sanada both went to their meeting office and found their teammates there. They need to explain to them everything, but first, Yukimura needed to announce what the final game he had in mind. He had formulated a plan as he and Sanada were walking towards that room. But there was one major flaw… he lacks one member._

_And their meeting began. He mentioned that he forgot to invite Higa Chuu, to which the others just shrugged._

_The captain talked about his _creative _final game and Higa Chuu appeared. _

_With Higa's arrival, Yukimura suddenly smiled. That major flaw he had before was now crashed into pieces. He could say he was really lucky that Higa appeared. With that, his plan was going to go well._

_After Higa left, the tennis team did not notice two people eavesdropping on them, and so Yukimura proceeded on explaining to his teammates the purpose behind the final game._

**:||~ThEfInAlGaMe~||:**

"I really don't like my costume…" Taka complained timidly.

They stared at Taka's costume. It was Lupin III's costume.

"I think it'll suit you, Taka-san!" Momo encouraged. He looked at his own costume and narrowed his brows. "My costume's Zolo's outfit."

"Who's Zolo?" Oishi asked.

Fuji smiled. "He's the swordsman in One Piece," he answered the mother hen.

Eiji leaped on Oishi and stared at Fuji's costume. "Yours is Cho Hakkai's of the Saiyuki series, right?"

Fuji chuckled, "Yes."

"I wonder how the Rikkai tennis team thought of our costumes however? It was all planned out, wasn't it?" Momo asked his teammates.

"Not to mention that how they got all of these cosplaying stuff?" Kaidoh hissed irritatingly.

Then, Ryoma went out of the changing room.

The regulars stared at him.

"A samurai costume?" Momo observed Ryoma's outfit. He was wearing a blue _obi _and matching colored _hakama _(1)over a red kimono.

A vein popped on the prince's head. "That guy's mocking me," he said pertaining to Yukimura.

Eiji chuckled. "Yeah! I mean, who's the Samurai Junior now?" he said as he covered his mouth with his hand, trying not to laugh hard.

"I think it suits you, Ryoma-kun," Sakuno said as she smiled.

Ryoma met her eyes. He sighed and turned around.

"I wish I can wear a costume, too…" Sakuno said to Tomoka.

Tomo nodded in agreement, remembering she's an otaku. "But we're the _unacceptable _players! We can't join this final game!" she complained irritatingly.

"It's better for you not to wear any costume," an authoritative voice said sternly. They saw Tezuka coming out of the changing room.

"A samurai costume too?" they said in unison.

"They might let you wear inappropriate clothes," Tezuka added. He was being overprotective of his sister. He's pretty concerned, though he may not show it, about the clothes the girls might wear (clothes that may show too much skin) if they were allowed in the game. He had seen some female anime girls with liberated costumes, after all.

"Nya!" Eiji placed his finger under his chin. "O'chibi and Tezuka's outfit are samurai clothes!"

The others nodded.

"Anyway, shall we go inside and change, too?" Oishi asked, and everyone else nodded. After all, Yukimura also told them that they needed to finish the games for the seven groups before 9:00 pm. And they translated that to: 8:30 pm. They needed to finish the games in exactly 8:30 pm.

After a few more minutes of waiting, every VIP gamers finally finished changing and the games begun.

**:||~ThEfInAlGaMe~||:**

The _unacceptable _players were watching the games begin with Ryoga and Nanako, who, observed by Sakuno, were looking more disturbed than ever.

The VIP gamers were all divided into seven groups, with only one player per group needed to win. The games for the seven groups all started at the same time and so, the _unacceptable _players were undecided yet on which game to watch.

Horio knitted his (already knitted) brows. "It's hard to decide which group to watch! All the players are just randomly separated!" He scratched his head in annoyance.

Ryoga and Nanako looked on the ground. It was intended to be like that.

Ann observed carefully the splitting of the players. "Something's weird…"

Tomo looked at the second year girl and turned her attention to the seven groups playing in the courts. After observing and found nothing amusing or weird, she turned her head back to Ann. "What do you mean? I don't see anything weird…"

Sakuno narrowed her brows. "The fearsome players… none of them are in the same group at once."

Kachiro turned his head to the group, like Tomoka. "Fearsome players? Like Ryoma-kun?"

Dan nodded his head. "You're right desu! They're all separated desu!"

It was then that Nanako and Ryoga decided to interrupt the young one's conversation.

Nanako smiled at them sweetly. "That's right. Only seven players will win this elimination round… that's why Yukimura-san carefully sorted out the players in each group."

"For the seven groups, only seven will stand," Ryoga added.

**:||~ThEfInAlGaMe~||:**

A blonde, blue-eyed boy stood at the entrance of the auditorium. Right now, he was sure that the VIP games are at their final game. That final game's purpose was for him. He smirked evilly. "Now, now… there's only two more hours left before the festival's ending ceremony. I wonder, who'll win that final game?"

"K-Kaicho!" Ezekiel called as he ran towards Nathan with his bear around his arms. "There you are! I-I've been looking everywhere for you!"

Nathan slightly turned his head to Ezekiel. "Eze…"

"K-Kaicho, g-gomen na… I-I failed to k-know who Ryuzaki-san's in love with…" he apologized as he scratched his head.

"It's okay," he replied.

Ezekiel paled. His Kaicho forgave him? Now, that's something new.

**:||~ThEfInAlGaMe~||:**

GROUP 1

(The group of 'Mr. Nice-Guys')

Shiraishi Kuranosuke and Chitose Senri of Shitenhouji, Fuji Syuusuke and Oishi Syuichiroh of Seigaku, Ootori Choutarou of Hyotei, Saeki Kojirou and Kurobane Harukaze of Rokkaku, Kajimoto Takahisa of Jyosei Shonan, Tachibana Kippei of Fudomine, and Jackal Kuwahara and Yagyuu Hiroshi of Rikkaidai were the declared 'Mr. Nice-Guys'. Each group was given three courts each. For group one, they were assigned with courts A, B and C.

They all simultaneously sighed disappointedly after they stared at each other. And after the sighing, they concurrently stared at each other again and laughed charmingly at each other.

"Don't get me wrong! I didn't sigh because I'm disappointed that you guys are my group mates! I… I am actually glad that you…" they all said at the same time and their voice faded upon realizing that they were only fooling each other.

They sighed simultaneously again.

Maybe their group should be renamed 'The Group of Simultaneously Sighing and Talking and Laughing Nice Guys'—the 'Nice Guys' must _never _be removed.

Shiraishi stepped up and scratched his nape charmingly. He unsurely laughed as he said, "S-So, how are we going to get the games started?"

His group stared at him and pondered over their thoughts for a minute.

Yagyuu, Rikkai's gentleman, was the first one to speak. He stated monotonously, "I don't mind letting any of you guys win."

Oishi, the mother hen, looked at him with amazement. And soon, his eyes sparkled with fortitude. He nodded surely and said, "I don't mind giving you guys the win either! I want you guys to believe in yourselves that you can do it!"

Chitose smiled at them and sighed contently. "I don't mind giving the throne to any of you guys either."

Fuji chuckled. "Saa… I'm not aiming for the win anyway. I just wanted to have fun. And I already had a lot since this morning," he said while smiling. But the last sentence was hinted with sadism.

Ootori blushed as he stuttered, "A-Anou… I-I w-want to m-make S-Sakuno-san h-happy… a-and I think t-that she'll b-be happier i-if I m-make you guys w-win…"

Fuji suddenly opened his eyes and fixed them on Ootori. He was sending warning signals to the other half of the Silver Pair. Ootori felt something stabbing him and just shrugged it.

"So it's decided then," Kajimoto said while smiling. "We'll just play to have fun and to give way to others!"

"Of course!" Shiraishi grinned.

Kajimoto and Shiraishi shook hands.

Their group mates noticed that the two look similar to each other.

After a while, a random mobile phone bounced over Saeki's head. He immediately turn his head towards where the phone came from and saw Aoi Kentarou of Group 4 and his group mates talking _very loudly _with each other.

"A-Are you okay, S-Saeki-san?" Ootori rushed to him and asked worriedly.

Saeki just smiled and nodded. "I'm fine, Ootori-kun." Then, he noticed Kurobane giving warning signals to someone from another group. "Kurobane?"

Kurobane turned his head to Saeki and laughed weakly. "I think Davide there was about to crack a joke. I just gave him a warning glare!" he smiled.

The members of group one all smiled at each other charmingly as they sparkled.

And, their _nice and friendly _tennis matches began.

First match: Court A, a three-on-three match between Shiraishi-Fuji-Tachibana pair versus Kajimoto-Chitose-Saeki pair. Court B, a doubles match between Ootori-Oishi pair versus Kurobane-Jackal pair. Yagyuu Hiroshi volunteered to be the umpire on both sides.

"Are you sure you can do this, Yagyuu-san? Maybe being an umpire on two games at once might be too hard on you! M-Maybe we should—" Oishi said but was cut off by Yagyuu.

"I'll be fine," he adjusted his glasses, "We are the 'Simultaneously Nice Guys group'."

Kajimoto sweat dropped.

Well, technically, they _were all, _as a matter of fact, _simultaneously _nice with each other.

"Anyway…" Yagyuu sat on the umpire seat, "Court A, Fuji to serve. Court B, Ootori to serve. Begin."

They looked worriedly at Yagyuu for a second before starting their games.

And then, the players' gentle and _kind _eyes suddenly glowed red and they became aggressive players.

Ootori did his trademark serve, _Neo Scud Serve, _with no holding back.

As for court A, Fuji's eyes glinted with mischievousness as he started their game with his _Disappearing serve._

Right now, both games were heated in a serious and devastating match; completely contradicting their _nice and friendly _proposed tennis match.

The group's only audience, Echizen Ryoga, grinned boyishly. "Looks like their kindness disappear once they step into the court," he chuckled, "Ah, tennis. Not only do you defy the laws of physics and gravity… but also the players' personalities."

Yagyuu just watched the match with indifferent eyes (well, that is if you see his eyes behind his glasses).

After twenty minutes…

"Game and match, for Court A, Shiraishi-Fuji-Tachibana pair. For court B, Ootori-Oishi pair," Yagyuu announced as the players panted after their agreed time-limited-matches—because Yukimura only gave them one and a half hour to finish the games for all groups. Whoever has the most point within the time span would be considered the winner.

And they were back to their _kind _selves.

"_S-Sorry for taking the game too seriously…"_

"_No, I'm the one who should be apologizing!"_

"_You were definitely better than me."_

"_I always admired your tennis."_

"_It was a nice game."_

"_I'm honored to play against you."_

Second match: Singles match between Shiraishi and Tachibana for court A, Ootori and Oishi for court B and Fuji versus…

"Who's going to fight Fuji?" Shiraishi concernedly asked.

Oishi smiled. "Let's just let him rest."

Somehow, they all agreed. Because they were kind…?

"Okay. Court A, Shiraishi to serve. Court B, Oishi to serve," Yagyuu said.

And their 'I-turn-serious-when-I-step-to-the-courts-fear-me' selves returned.

And court A and B were heated up again.

After twenty minutes…

Oishi and Tachibana dropped on their own side of the court, panting heavily. They were defeated by their respective opponents.

Their _kind _selves returned.

"_It wasn't that bad!"_

"_I think you've improved quite a lot!"_

"_I'm just lucky…"_

"_You deserve the win."_

Third match: Singles match between Fuji Syuusuke and…

"A-Anou… I-I think you're already tired from t-the previous game with Tachibana-san! P-Please… just rest for a while! I-I think you need to rest first!" Ootori said worriedly to Shiraishi.

Shiraishi laughed. "No, I'm fine. It's you I'm worried about. You're the one who deserves some rest. I'm not that tired. Don't worry about me."

"But Shiraishi-san!" Ootori insisted, "I don't want you losing because you're tired. I-I mean, yes, we only played for twenty minutes… b-but your opponent is Tachibana-san! You look awfully tired! I-I'll go get some water for you!"

"Ah, d-don't! I'm fine… Ootori-kun, you have low stamina, right? So you really nee—"

"Coin flips. Heads, Shiraishi. Tails, Ootori," Yagyuu interrupted and flipped a coin.

It landed with _tails _on the ground.

Yagyuu moves _fast… _

Ootori smiled. "Now, you can rest for a while, Shiraishi-san!" he said happily.

Shiraishi just stayed back in defeat.

Ryoga grinned. "Such nice boys!" he said sarcastically to himself and laughed mockingly.

"Third match: Fuji versus Ootori. Ootori to serve."

And as predicted, the once _nice guys _turned into _aggressive players _inside the court again.

After twenty minutes…

"Game and match. Fuji Syuusuke," Yagyuu announced.

And as predicted again, their kindness returned.

"_You're really something."_

"_No, you're the more skilled one."_

"It feels like they're a broken record…" Ryoga commented to himself. "They're kind, then they have their tennis match, they turn serious, then after the match they're kind again, and so on."

Fourth and final match: Fuji versus Shiraishi.

"This is the second time we're fighting," Fuji smiled charmingly.

"Yeah!"

Yagyuu intervened, "Shiraishi to serve!"

Fuji smiled sadistically. "I'm not going to lose to you again."

Shiraishi smirked. "Don't expect that I'm going to go easy on you."

After twenty minutes…

Their group mates gulped. In just twenty minutes, the two performed another dramatic, heart-pounding, nail-biting, hair-raising tennis match.

Yagyuu cleared his throat.

"Game and match. Shiraishi Kuranosuke. 15-0."

That was the longest one-point match they watched in their lives. Not counting Kintarou and Ryoma's match, of course.

"_Congratulations, Shiraishi-san! You won for our group!"_

"_You're really a talented player!"_

"_I hope you win this Final Game as a whole!"_

Shiraishi just laughed charmingly at the kind praises his group mates are giving him.

Ryoga stared at Shiraishi with unreadable eyes. "He's also wearing a samurai costume…" After a few seconds, he finally realized something. He looked over the other groups and saw one player on each group was wearing samurai clothes. Then, he grinned knowingly. "You're too obvious, Yukimura…"

"Everyone! Gather up!" they heard Yukimura announced.

**:||~ThEfInAlGaMe~||:**

GROUP 2

(The group of 'Just-taking-it-easy' guys)

Yukimura Seiichi and Niou Masaharu of Rikkai, Momoshiro Takeshi of Seigaku, Hitouji Yuuji, Konjiki Koharu and Zaizen Hikaru of Shitenhouji, Sengoku Kiyosumi of Yamabuki, Fuji Yuuta and Kisarazu Atsushi of St. Rudolph, Amane Davide of Rokkaku, and lastly, Uchimura Kyousuke of Fudomine were the members of this easy-go-lucky group.

Yukimura just sat on the bench, watching over his group mates with indifference.

Hitouji and Konjiki, the comedy duo of Shitenhouji, were not paying attention to the others as they were being lovey-dovey with each other.

Davide was busy thinking of some jokes to crack.

Uchimura sat on a corner and watched his captain, Tachibana, and his group mates on the other group talking and laughing to each other _simultaneously. _

Fuji Yuuta and Kisarazu were just standing casually and doing nothing.

Niou was searching for something on his pocket—a prank for the others, probably.

Zaizen was just looking at his group mates with boredom.

Sengoku folded his arms on the back of his head lazily. He sighed and said, "I'm not in the mood for tennis today… There are no cute girls around to watch our group… How unlucky—" then, he saw Tachibana's little sister walking towards their group. "Oh! Lucky! A cute girl! Hi there!" he yelled cheerfully as he waved one arm to get her attention.

Momoshiro immediately said, "S-Sengoku-san! Tachibana's imouto is—"

"Hello there, Momoshiro-kun, Sengoku-san," Ann said and turned to her brother's teammate, "Uchimura-kun! Good luck!" and she smiled happily.

Uchimura smiled back and waved an arm to her.

"Tachibana-imouto! What are you doing here? I thought you were going to watch your brother's group instead of…" Momo's voice faded.

Ann smiled. "We, the _unacceptable players, _agreed on watching one group each. But Ryoga-san and Nanako-san also volunteered on being the audience on the other groups. We drew lots on which group to watch," she showed them a piece of paper with the number '2' written on it, "but I don't mind. I want to see you play, Momoshiro-kun!"

Momo couldn't think of anything else to say as he blushed. "O-Oh…" then he laughed weakly. He scratched the back of his head and said, with his face red, "W-Well, I'll defeat these guys with my 'Super Great Momoshiro Special' and win f-for… y-y-y-you…"

Remembering the past occurrences at the Video Game 'Game' earlier, Ann smiled sweetly as she blushed. "Arigatou, Momo."

Momo just laughed weakly again.

Then, Sengoku interrupted. "Are you guys dating?"

"NO!" The two 'not-yet-lovers' abruptly said while they blushed furiously.

Sengoku eyed them with disbelief. "Really?"

Momo and Ann's faces turned really red. "O-Of course n-not!" they stuttered.

Sengoku grinned. "Lucky!" he ran towards Ann and _flirted _with her.

Ignoring the love triangle, Yukimura said to them, "We should decide how we'll play our games before 8:30."

His group mates just yawned lazily.

"First time I'll ever have my screen time in this fic… and yet, I don't feel like doing anything," Zaizen said as he rolled his eyes.

"You guys go play as much as you want," Koharu said while he and Yuuji were hugging each other with comical intimacy.

"Koharu-chan and I are busy~" Yuuji sang.

Davide was about to crack a joke when he noticed Kurobane of Group 1 giving him warning glares. He dejectedly closed his mouth.

The Rudolphians looked at each other then to Yukimura. They sweat dropped knowing that even if they play against the demigod, they'll only lose. "We'll pass," they both said. "I want to play with my aniki though…" the younger Fuji softly mumbled.

Sengoku and Momoshiro kept on verbally fighting each other over Ann.

Uchimura stared at Yukimura. He raised his hand. "I'll play with you…" he said.

Yukimura smiled. "So I guess we're the only ones who are willing to fight. Whoever wins our match shall be the declared winner for this group," he turned his head to everyone, "Any objections?"

"… None…" they lazily answered.

First and only match: Singles match between the captain of Rikkai, Yukimura Seiichi, and Fudomine's Uchimura Kyousuke.

Even though Uchimura knew he'll only lose, his courage did not falter. For some reason, he actually felt eager on playing tennis with the legendary demigod of Rikkai. He saw this opportunity as once in a lifetime and wanted to take advantage of it.

"Why should I be the umpire? I did not agree. How lame. I don't want to do this. I want to sit around doing nothing. I've got low scores on my VIP games anyway. Even if I win the final game, I still won't win…" Zaizen complained as he sat on the umpire-seat.

Zaizen sighed deeply one last time before umpiring. "We won't apply the twenty-minute limit rule in this match since there's only one game that will be played for this group. But make sure you finish the game before 8:30. Otherwise I'll stop the game and declare whoever had the most points win. Now the rules are explained, let's begin," Zaizen said, "One-set match. Uchimura of Fudomine, to serve!"

And the games begin. The other group members either watched the game or were busy with themselves.

Ann noticed the group's game beginning. She ignored Sengoku and Momoshiro who were still verbally fighting each other and watched with amazement as her schoolmate and friend, Uchimura, bravely faced the feared legendary child of God. "Go, Uchimura-kun!" she cheered. She also did not fail to notice that the demigod was wearing samurai clothes.

After 10 minutes…

Group 2 was silent. They noticed their group's game as it started and it immediately caught their attention even though they didn't want to since they knew that Yukimura would win for sure. Half of them were frightened of the demigod's ability. They've seen him fight with Echizen during the nationals, but still… seeing him fight again… Even if they were only watching them, they could literally feel their senses going numb.

Uchimura panted on the ground while sweating heavily. He raised his head up and looked at the stars with blank eyes. "A-A-Amazing…"

Yukimura looked at him from his courtside. He was inwardly astounded with Uchimura's bravery and determination. But…

"G-Game and match…"

"_My plan really needed to go smoothly," _Yukimura thought.

"Yukimura Seiichi, 6-0…" Zaizen announced with wide eyes.

Uchimura stood up, with his legs shaking, and looked at Yukimura's eyes. "Thank you… for taking this game seriously."

Yukimura smiled. He won his games. He was the winner for group 2. And there was still a few minutes left before his deadline. After a while, seeing that all other groups had concluded their winners, and seeing each group's winners was according to what he wanted, he gathered everyone's attention.

"Everyone! Gather up!" Yukimura announced.

**:||~ThEfInAlGaMe~||:**

GROUP 3

(Group of the 'Arrogant Guys')

Echizen Ryoma of Seigaku, Marui Bunta and Kirihara Akaya of Rikkaidai, Mizuki Hajime of St. Rudolph, Oshitari Kenya of Shitenhouji, Hiyoshi Wakashi of Hyotei, Hiroshi Wakato, Tanaka Kohei and Tanaka Yohei of Jyosei Shonan, and Tanishi Kei and Hirakoba Rin were the infamous arrogant ones of the tennis world.

They smirked arrogantly at each other.

"I'll defeat every one of you with my _gekokujou," _Hiyoshi said.

"Mada mada dane," everyone knows who said it.

"Behold! The Speed Star of Naniwa is here!" Oshitari Kenya praised himself.

"Mada mada dane," Ryoma repeated.

Mizuki giggled evilly. "I've already gathered enough data of each and one of you. And I know your weaknesses. I doubt you'll ever defeat me."

"Mada mada dane," somehow, Ryoma didn't like being ignored one bit.

Marui Bunta and Kirihara rolled their eyes. They knew who's going to win but decided to just play along anyway (and also because their _arrogant souls _are kicking in). "The tensai here is the one who's going to win," Marui said before popping a gum.

"I'll CRUSH you!" Kirihara grinned evilly.

"Mada mada dane," Ryoma said as he peeked at the surroundings to look for a certain someone.

Wakato smiled arrogantly. "No wonder you guys are not famous with girls."

"Hiroshi Wakato and Hiyoshi Wakashi… You guys are confusing. I don't know who's who." Hirakoba said as he stared at the Jyosei Shonan ladies man and the gekokujou Hyotei player.

Hiroshi gave him a death glare while Hiyoshi hissed at him. Or was it the other way around? One of the guys should probably change his name to avoid anymore confusions.

"Hmph! You guys should not even stand within a meter of our united greatness," the Tanaka brothers frowned.

A vein popped on Ryoma's head. "Mada mada dane."

Tanishi and Hirakoba laughed evilly. "Yukimura-san let us join the final game at the last minute. Don't you think that he acknowledges our greatness better than any of you?"

The Tanaka twins glared at them. "What did you say!"

"You heard me!" Tanishi shouted back.

For some odd reason, maybe because Sakuno wasn't watching him right now (he looked around and didn't find her), Ryoma felt irritated. And he released his irritation to the fat boy of Higa. "Hn. You must be feeling lucky now. You didn't do anything at all the whole day, yet you get to play the end game," he said as he gave a challenging smirk to Tanishi. And at last, he stopped saying his catchphrase!

Tanishi retorted. "What the hell did you say, brat! You're just jealous that we get to have the special treatment!" He grabbed Ryoma's collar and lifted him off the ground. "You're nothing but a pipsqueak!"

Ryoma smirked dangerously at him. "Yes, the very same _pipsqueak _that defeated you months ago."

Tanishi went speechless. He was about to stutter an appropriate answer when Ryoma spoke ahead of him, "And… the very same _pipsqueak _that's going to take you down today."

Tanishi threw him a few feet away and stomped to the tennis courts. "Then prove yourself! I don't care about the time limit! I'm taking you down right here and now! Just don't go crying to your mommy when I beat you!"

"AMBULANCE!" they heard a distinct voice coming from somewhere—the neighboring noisy group, more probably. Anyway, they just ignored it.

Ryoma sat up after being thrown by the angered Tanishi. He, instead of being mad at the Higa regular, challengingly smirked at him. He walked to the courts and positioned himself on the other courtside. "The only thing I heard from you was '_I'm scared of you, please don't hurt me! Help me mommy!'_" Ryoma mocked.

Now, Tanishi was beyond mad. Their group mates angrily complained about how unfair Tanishi and Ryoma were for taking one of the three courts without even informing them. Tanishi ignored the angry complainants and was about to serve the ball when…

"Nee, fat boy," Ryoma called while the other players kept on stating their complaints to them, "Got a better idea," he said.

Tanishi got distracted by this and failed to hit the ball. "W-What now! Are you chickening out?"

Ryoma closed his eyes. "No. I just thought that it's boring having to play with you."

Tanishi smirked. "Hah! So you are chickening out!"

"Let me give you an advantage." Ryoma added, ignoring his opponent's comment. "Let's start the game," he began opening his eyes again, "with the scores 5-0, 40-0, with you on the lead." He smirked again.

His group mates stared at him disbelievingly. They knew, everyone does, that Echizen Ryoma was an arrogant brat. But they all thought that he had gone too far. And _that _came from the other arrogant ones.

"And I'd appreciate it more, if we play this game 10 players versus 1. Since the other guys are complaining too. What do you say?" Ryoma looked at his other group mates with another challenging smirk.

"You're cockiness already reached past heaven," Marui commented as he rolled his eyes.

"It's a good way to teach this brat a lesson," Tanaka Kouhei said, accepting the challenge. His brother nodded in agreement.

"Ten versus one? Don't act like you're not tricking us! Our courtside would be too crowded if that happened," Hiyoshi said, not liking the situation one bit.

Then, "All right! Why don't we let the brat do what he wants," Kirihara said as he smirked at Echizen.

Kenya smirked. "Whatever. I'll defeat that kid with my speed anyway!"

Mizuki interrupted him, "If we proceed on what you really want," he continued as he stared down at Echizen, "that means that you should not lose, even a single point."

Ryoma smirked. "I never knew you're a _baka _too."

Mizuki narrowed his brows. "What?"

"And deaf, too," Ryoma added.

"Spit out what you want to say already, BRAT!" Tanishi yelled as he grabbed Ryoma's collar warningly.

"You said I should not lose a point right?" the tennis prince said as he turned to Mizuki after he released himself from Tanishi's grip. "You better rephrase that."

His group mates stared confusedly at the very cocky brat.

"I will not lose a point," he pulled the brim of his cap downwards as he ignored whoever literally called the ambulance.

"I'll win this game 7-5, with you guys not even earning a single point," he added.

"GOOO! RYOMA-SAMA! KYA~ S-E-I-G-A-K-U can say! Hey Seigaku, HEY SEIGAKU LET'S GO!"

They heard a very loud screech coming from nowhere.

Apparently, other groups also heard her, which she only pointedly ignored. She pulled Sakuno closer to her and forced her to cheer for their idol. "Go Sakuno! Tell Ryoma-sama you support him!" Tomoka patted Sakuno on the back harshly (though she thought she did it gently), which made Sakuno stumble forward.

"T-Tomo-chan!" Sakuno scolded lightly as she blushed deeply.

Tomoka only laughed. "GO!"

"Wow! Two cute girls!" Wakato happily exclaimed.

"Sakuno-san!" the Tanaka brothers smiled upon seeing the timid woman.

Kirihara and Marui looked at her with loving eyes. After that, they noticed each other then glared.

"Stop looking at my wife like that!"—Marui.

"She's not your wife! She's my wife!"—Kirihara.

Then, they both sighed. Right now, they needed _him _(they looked at _him_) to win for this group so that Yukimura's plan would go accordingly. They have to stop fighting at least. It's for _her _after all.

Ryoma stared at his two most loyal fan girls. He didn't really know that they were watching him (because he didn't see them earlier). He really thought that Ryuzaki was going to support her _onii-sama._

He smirked unknowingly.

"A-Anou…" she blushed redder when she saw group 3's full attention on her. "G-G-Ganbatte… R-Ryoma-kun…" she finished shyly.

Ryoma turned around to face his ten opponents. "Ah," he said loud enough to her.

Sakuno blushed and nodded determinedly. "FIGHT-O Ryoma-kun!"

And with that, the prince of tennis did his trademark serve.

"Game, Echizen, 7-5!"

"_Mada mada dane."_

They didn't need three courts after all. Or maybe, it was because they couldn't move freely with their costumes _and _they were too crowded in one courtside. And voila! Echizen won for the cockiest player in the group of cocky players.

"Everyone! Gather up!" Yukimura announced.

**:||~ThEfInAlGaMe~||:**

GROUP 4

(The group of the 'Loud and-or Noisy Guys')

Atobe Keigo, Akutagawa Jirou and Mukahi Gakuto of Hyotei, Tooyama Kintarou of Shitenhouji, Kawamura Takashi and Kikumaru Eiji of Seigaku, Aoi Kentarou and Itsuki Marehiko of Rokkaku, Kamio Akira of Fudomine, and lastly, Yanagizawa Shinya of St. Rudolph were all chattering with themselves. Noisily.

Dan was the one watching them. "Sugoi desu!"

Kawamura laughed timidly as he scratched his nape uncomfortably. He honestly did not know why he was also labeled as 'noisy'. Then, Kikumaru giggled and inconspicuously slid a tennis racket on his teammate. "BURNING! LET US STOP CHATTERING AND START FIGHTING, BABY!" and then he dropped the racket. "Uhm… what was I… saying again?"

Kikumaru giggled and stopped when he saw Group 3's Ryoma being lifted off the ground by Tanishi. He bit his nail nervously. "T-Trouble! O'chibi's in trouble nya!" he said pointing to where O'chibi was with his index finger. "I-I'm sensing a r-riot there, nya!" Kikumaru added.

"Trouble?" Kin-chan saw the guy from Higa lifting Koshimae by his collar and threw him to the ground recklessly. "K-Koshimae's in trouble? Oh no!" he panicked and ran around, "What if he gets knocked down? Sa-chan's going to be worried! I can't let that happen!"

The other noisy freshman, Aoi Kentarou interrupted. "EH! ECHIZEN IS IN TROUBLE! THIS IS BAD, WHAT ARE WE GOING TO DO!"

A tennis racket magically appeared on Taka-san's hand, again. And then, "BURNING! LET'S DO IT! LET'S SAVE ECHIZEN, BABY!"

And seeing that there is someone who understands the situation other than himself, Kin-chan smiled at Aoi and Taka-san. "I KNOW RIGHT! KOSHIMAE NEEDS HELP!"

"LET'S HELP HIM!" Aoi said (yelled).

Kin-chan grinned toothily and nodded. "LET'S DO IT!"

"LET'S BE A HERO, DANE?" Yanagizawa butted in.

"I'm in the rhythm of saving that boy's butt," Kamio said as he smirked.

"Why? Why must we save Echizen? Tell me, why? Why is he in trouble?" Itsuki blew his nose as he asked continuous 'whys' to Kikumaru, who was turning annoyed at him.

The neighboring group, Group 5, all covered their ears from the yelling group of people. And then, Jirou woke up because of the yelling. Gakuto smiled to himself. "Why don't you call the ambulance in advance then?" he joked. Unfortunately…

"OH, I KNOW! I'LL CALL AN AMBULANCE RIGHT NOW SO THAT KOSHIMAE WOULD BE SAVED FROM THAT BULLY!" Kin-chan said and took out his phone. Aoi supported him.

But instead of everyone's expectation that he'll call the ambulance via his phone, he threw his phone to a random direction faraway and yelled, "AMBULANCE!"

The phone flew to group 1 and bounced over Saeki Kojirou's head.

Kikumaru and Gakuto laughed through their nose. Then, Gakuto noticed that Kikumaru was giggling beside him and his mood immediately changed. "YOU! HOW DARE YOU LAUGH WITH ME! I'M THE ONLY ONE HERE WHO HAS THE RIGHT TO LAUGH AT HIM!"

Kikumaru titled his head in confusion. "Nya?"

"STOP THOSE ANNOYING _NYAS _OF YOURS! STOP TRYING TO LOOK CUTE BECAUSE YOU'RE NOT! YOU WILL NEVER BE CUTE!" Gakuto kept on yelling at the confused Kikumaru.

Jirou was now fully awake and… sugar-high… like always. "Cool! You're calling an ambulance as if it was a taxi."

"AMBULANCE!" Aoi and Kintarou yelled.

"AMBULANCE/BURNING/DANE!" Aoi, Kintarou, Kawamura, Jirou and Yanagizawa all yelled.

Idiots.

After a few more minutes…

"Looks like Koshimae doesn't need an ambulance anymore… They're done with bullying Koshimae," the redhead looked again at group 3 and saw them playing against each other. Well, it was more of a ten-versus-one battle. "Koshimae's so lucky…" he stared at the ground sadly. "And Shiraishi seems to be having fun in his group…" he complained to his other group mates.

"BUT THAT WAS COOL!" Jirou exclaimed, "HE'S BEATING TEN PLAYERS AT ONCE! WHAT DO YOU THINK, ATOBE?"

Atobe, who was unbelievably the only person who was quiet at that time, stared at him. He didn't know why he was put in this group, either. Everyone knows that he should be put in the 'Arrogant Guys Group' instead of the noisy group. He was a narcissist for goodness' sake! Unless…

He turned his head and looked at Yukimura who was busy defeating a Fudomine player. He became suspicious on what the demigod really had in mind. He shifted his gaze to Sakuno, who was cheering with her loud friend in group 3. Tch. If he was in that group too, then his Hime would've cheered for him as well.

"Atobe?" Jirou asked again.

"What's the matter with you now?" Gakuto, who also noticed his captain's crankiness a bit out of the environment, said after he was done yelling his frustrations out to the other acrobat redhead.

"Nothing," Atobe replied.

"MOU! I WANT TO FIGHT KOSHIMAE!"

Atobe heard this (who wouldn't? They were all yelling!) and turned his head to Ryoma who was also beating ten players on his group. "Echizen…"

Then, he finally realized something. There must be a good reason why Yukimura separated _them. _He finally understood. With that, he stood up gracefully and was back to his normal, arrogant self. "Let's start playing our games now, ahn?"

This perked up the attention of his group mates.

"ME! I WANT TO PLAY FIRST!"

"NO, ME!"

"I'LL BEAT YOU GUYS WITH MY RHYTHM!"

"GET OUTTA MY WAY! I'LL GET TO PLAY FIRST!"

"I WANT TO PLAY!"

"BURNING! I'LL BEAT YOU GUYS!"

"NYA! I WANT TO PLAY TOO!"

"YOU'LL NEVER WIN AGAINST ME, KIKUMARU!"

"NYA?"

"… I KNOW I'LL LOSE BUT I'LL DO MY BEST DANE!"

Atobe snapped his fingers gracefully, expecting the loud monkeys to be quiet. Unfortunately, they didn't.

A vein popped on the King's head. What he hated the most was being ignored. Honestly! Can't they talk normally without yelling at each other? He felt like he was the babysitter of these noisy monkeys. "_Mada mada dane, Monkey King." _He heard Ryoma said to him in his mind. Now that made him mad.

"SHUT UP AND LISTEN TO ORE-SAMA!"

They, fortunately, turned silent.

Atobe stood proudly at the middle, quite enjoying the attention everyone was giving him, finally. "Let's imitate what that other group is doing," he pointed towards group 3.

Kamio rolled his eyes. "What an arrogant person you are."

"HE SHOULD BE AT THE 'ARROGANT GUYS GROUP' TOO!" Aoi yelled.

Atobe smirked. "Ore-sama believes that Yukimura was up to something devious. Ore-sama thought of just playing along."

"Why?" Itsuki asked randomly.

Atobe did not know how to answer to that.

"SO, WHO'S GOING TO BE THE PREY, BABY!" Kawamura yelled, still fired up.

Atobe arrogantly smirked at them. "How about _ore-sama _being the lone player while you other commoners gather up in one court and try to beat ore-sama."

The loud guys looked at each other unsurely at first.

Then…

"BRING IT ON!"

First and only match: A nine-on-one battle between Atobe Keigo of Hyotei and _The Loud Monkeys._

"This is game's going to be self-judged. Any objections?" Atobe asked as he was ready to throw the tennis ball up for a serve.

"None!" the loud monkeys answered. Each and one of them were bearing determined and excited looks. They never did that kind of game before. Although, they were a really a bit crowded on half a tennis court, but still… it was exciting for them.

Atobe smirked. He tossed the ball up and confidently started the game with his Tannhauser serve. As expected, it didn't bounce, so the loud monkeys could only stare at it.

Their game continued. Since there are nine loud monkeys on the other side of the court, three on the baseline, three on the net and three between the baseline and the net, Atobe knew that his _Koori no Sekai _wouldn't be useful since one dead angle of one player wouldn't be another one's dead angle. Another monkey could save his monkey friend once Atobe hit a ball on his dead angle. But then again, those nine monkeys were too crowded in that court. It was possible that this handicap could compensate with Atobe's trademark technique. Even if there are nine people separately positioned on the court, there could still be _one _dead angle. Especially if they were wearing clothes that are either too uncomfortable or too heavy.

Atobe returned the shot that Kamio did. Kikumaru got into his place at the net and hit it back.

"THAT WAS MY BALL, KIKUMARU!" Gakuto yelled after Kikumaru flipped over.

"Nya?"

Atobe smirked. This was his chance. He saw one small dead angle for all nine monkeys. He accurately hit it back and none of the nine monkeys managed (or even tried) to hit it back.

The nine monkeys stared at the mark the ball made on the court after Atobe hit it.

Atobe smirked at them. "So in the end, ore-sama still saw everyone's weakness."

Kintarou was shaking. He was shaking with excitement. He ran towards the baseline and hurried everyone to continue the game.

"40-0" Somehow, even though Yanagizawa knew he was fighting a self-centered diva, he was having fun.

"1-0" Jirou grinned happily. But he thought it would be more fun if he were the lone player.

"15-40" Aoi returned the ball back with a huge smile.

"Deuce" Kamio served and did an ace. He smirked and continued his serve.

"30-30" Itsuki had his brows narrowed, determined to do the best he can.

"5-4" Gakuto tried his best to be better at acrobatics than Kikumaru, but he was smiling as he did so.

"40-30" Kikumaru was at his usual cheerful self, and quite enjoying the game, too.

"5-5" Kawamura was in his 'Burning Mode' and was grinning as he felt that passion in tennis coming back to him again.

"15-40" Atobe hit back gracefully, inwardly respecting each loud monkeys in front of him.

"7-5, Ore-sama wins." Kintarou grinned contently as Atobe hit the ball back, successfully earning his match point.

Atobe Keigo won for group 4.

"That was so cool desu!" Dan commented as his eyes sparkled.

Atobe smirked at the loud monkeys. He thought, though he wouldn't admit that to anyone, that he wouldn't mind playing with those noisy monkeys again soon. It was entertaining… and he liked challenges. He glanced over group 3, where his Hime and her loud friend were cheering. He narrowed his brows then looked back to Yukimura, who was already finished with his game. For a reason, he felt that whatever Yukimura was planning had something to do with his Hime.

And he was sure that it has got nothing to do with his Hime as the prize for the VIP gamers (although he inwardly wished it was). Instead… he felt as if they needed to do something _for_ her.

Atobe was also wearing samurai clothings.

"Everyone! Gather up!" Yukimura announced.

To be continued!

* * *

A/N: Hi, it's me again ^^ And as promised, I returned with another chapter ^_^ Sorry if I had to cut it in here guys, but if I continue, it's going to be really, really, really, really long (this chapter's already too long). And it might bore you guys out. But at least you guys have an idea on half of the seven players that Yukimura kept on mentioning. And don't worry. I'm already half-way done with what's happening in group 5. But I might update the next chapter the week after the next. And I think you guys will like what's going to happen in chapter 26 ^^ I'm already done with ch. 26 and 27. Last chapter would be ch.28. Wait for it, nee?

(1) _Hakama:_ wide flowing trousers. It's a part of a samurai's clothing.

As usual, I apologize for the grammatical errors and incorrect spellings. But please, do leave nice and inspiring reviews, like the ff, who I sincerely wanted to thank by the way:

**ILuvPurple16**, **AlphaSigma**, **demoncat13**, **J**, **givemeaname**, **SasoLOVE111**, **haninozuka mitskukuni**, **kara2st**, **cielmikitoaloislvr**, **Puppylove7**, **Rin**, **Haru Shikamotoroshi** and **yoyoyo**.

Disclaimers applied.

Next time: The games continue. Seven legendary players dominated. Seven legendary players are what Yukimura needed. Seven legendary players that will change everything. And Nathan appears. And so, let Yukimura's plan begin.


	25. The Final Game Part II

Chapter 25: The Final Game Part II

GROUP 5

(The 'Serious Guys' group)

Inui Sadaharu, Kaidoh Kaoru and Tezuka Kunimitsu of Seigaku, Ibu Shinji of Fudomine, Oshitari Yuushi, Shishido Ryou and Kabaji Munehiro of Hyotei, Shinjou Renji of Jyosei Shonan, Ishida Gin of Shitenhouji, Yanagi Renji of Rikkaidai, and Kisarazu Ryou of Rokkaku all stared at each other with their serious eyes.

Nanako Meino smiled at them. She volunteered to watch this group's match.

"Let's start our games," Tezuka said, straight to the point.

"Let's head to the courts now," Shinjou said with serious eyes.

"Fshuu," Kaidoh hissed, his eyes glaring, "Let's decide on who'll fight who first."

"Agreed. And we must finish our games before 20:30. There's a 67% possibility that we'll finish our games by 15.67 minutes early if we organize a good gaming strategy," Inui muttered.

"Wrong, Sadaharu," Yanagi said, "It's not 67%. It's 66.99%."

"According to my data, it's exactly 67%," Inui defended.

"It's highly sufficient for you to re-do your calculations. There's a 98.2222% prospect that you missed a vital part of the equation. And it's 78% possible that it's when you divide x by y to the power of sixth times the square root of 002." Yanagi monotonously said.

Inui checked his notebook. After a few scribbling, he raised his head up to look at Yanagi. "You were 98% right. But the right answer is still not 66.99%. It's 66.998% exactly."

Yanagi nodded. "You're 99.23% correct. I mentally calculated again the probabilities. The right answer was 66.998% possible."

The two _nerds _nodded. Not really knowing that their answers were all just the same if they estimate it.

Shinjou cleared his throat. He was about to say something to the nerds when Inui spoke, "Shinjou Renji, according to my data, you have a crush on your coach, Ms. Hanamura."

Shinjou blushed. He glared at them.

"He's not denying it, Sadaharu," Yanagi said.

Inui nodded.

"Ii data," they both muttered.

No one else dared to say something else to the blackmailing nerds.

Kisarazu cleared his throat. "How are we going to decide the players?"

Then, they heard group 4's noises. They covered their ears indifferently while still looking at each other with serious and narrowed eyes.

Deciding to just ignore the other group's noises, they went back to negotiating.

They looked like businessmen in a meeting in a 50-storey building inside a gray and dull office filled with… _office supplies… _

*Shivers*

Oshitari sighed. He was already tired of being the _straight and serious man _surrounded by other _straight and serious men._

"Yukimura only gave us until 8:30 to finish this. Let's go with his 10-minute limit per game," Tezuka suggested in monotony.

Ishida said, "Let's just start the elimination round."

They nodded in agreement.

First match: Court L, Singles match between Kisarazu Ryou and Yanagi Renji. Court M, Singles match between Ishida Gin and Kabaji Munehiro. Court N, Singles match between Shishido Ryou and Shinjou Renji.

Tezuka, Kaidoh and Inui were the chosen umpire for the first game.

"Court L, Yanagi to serve," Tezuka said in his usual authoritative voice.

"Court M, 100 percent possibility for Kabaji to serve," Inui said while writing something on his ever-present notebook.

"Fshuu. Court N, Shinjou to serve," Kaidoh glared (looked) at Shinjou.

The three servers for each court nodded and started the game.

After ten minutes…

"Game, Yanagi/Ishida/Shishido!" the umpires announced.

Second match: Court L, Singles match between Kaidoh Kaoru and Inui Sadaharu. Court M, Singles match between Shinji Ibu and Oshitari Yuushi. Court N, Singles match between Court N's previous winner, Shishido Ryou and Tezuka Kunimitsu.

Tezuka adjusted his glasses. "You're not tired yet, are you?"

"Getting tired that easily is gekidasa daze!" Shishido smirked.

This time, the umpires were Yanagi, Kisarazu and Shinjou.

The second match started. They did their very best as soon as it started, since they only had ten minutes to prove what they can do.

In the end, it was obvious who won: Kaidoh, Oshitari and Tezuka.

Shinjou cleared his throat. "There are five players left."

Third match: Court L, Singles match between Kaidoh Kaoru and Tezuka Kunimitsu. Court M, Singles match between Ishida Gin and Oshitari Yuushi. Court N, Single match between Yanagi Renji and whoever will win between Kaidoh and Tezuka.

"It's hard to distribute the players when the numbers are odd," Inui said as he adjusted his glasses. They nodded in agreement.

After ten minutes…

"Game, Tezuka/Ishida," the umpires announced.

Fourth match: Court N, Yanagi Renji versus Tezuka Kunimitsu.

After ten minutes…

"Game, Tezuka!"

Fifth and final match: Court L, Ishida Gin and Tezuka Kunimitsu.

"This calls for trouble, on Tezuka's part at least," Inui said.

"What makes you say that?" Kisarazu asked the data man.

Shinji answered, "Ishida's a power player. Tezuka-san just recovered from his injury. If Ishida plays with his hadoukyuu, Tezuka-san's injury might return."

"I see," Kisarazu said and turned back to the game.

"Demo…" Oshitari said, earning his group mate's gazes, "Tezuka's a pretty stubborn and determined player. Besides…" he took a glance into Ryuzaki Sakuno's general direction, "I got a feeling that something important to him is at stake with this final game."

Shinjou nodded. "The final game that Yukimura planned leaks suspiciousness."

After ten minutes… the winner was declared. It was obvious who would win, but still, it was a close call. Considering _his _injured arm and _his _almost-impossible strength.

"Game and match, Tezuka Kunimitsu!"

He was wearing samurai clothes, like Echizen, Yukimura, Shiraishi and Atobe.

"Everyone! Gather up!" Yukimura announced.

**:||~ThEfInAlGaMe~||:**

GROUP 6

(The 'Ignored Guys' Group)

Kite Eishirou, Shiranui Tomoya and Aragaki Kouichi of Higa, Akazawa Yoshirou of St. Rudolph, Daichi Kiriyama and Kakeru Oota of Jyosei Shonan, Shudou Satoshi of Rokkaku, Ishida Tetsu of Fudomine, and lastly, Higashitaka Masami, Kita Ichiuma and Nitobe Inakichi of Yamabuki were this group's members.

Higashitaka sighed very, very deeply. He whined. "I bet you, all viewers and readers of this had no single clue of who we are and what our purpose in the anime is."

His group mates nodded.

"I'm pretty sure even the author had no idea on who we are or which school we came from," Shiranui said while massaging his temples.

His group mates nodded.

"And rennomiya had to search for us to find out which schools we came from," Shudou said while shaking his head disappointedly.

His group mates nodded.

"Frankly, sometimes, even _I _think that I'm only some sort of filler for a school's team," Kakeru said irritatingly.

His group mates nodded.

"The fans only go for the good looking ones," Nitobe said.

His group mates nodded.

"And the worse fact was that those good looking ones were _coincidentally _players with good techniques… to make them noticed," Shiranui added.

His group mates nodded.

"Che," Aragaki snorted, "If it weren't for _us, _then those _good-looking _guys will be disqualified for the insufficient number of players in their team."

His group mates nodded.

"Well, on the plus side, we get to have our very own screen time. Most of us had little, if not, none at all, fanfics in the Prince of Tennis Community," Higashitaka said.

His group mates nodded.

"I just wish that Konomi-san won't forget about us," Daichi said.

His group mates nodded.

"Maybe he already did…" Shudou said sadly.

His group mates feared the thought.

Then, they looked at Kite, Akazawa and Ishida.

They sighed. Those three were somehow _recognized _unlike them.

The three aforementioned cleared their throats. "Should we get our games started?"

Their group mates nodded unenthusiastically.

"Let's just make sure they won't ignore us this time," someone said.

First match: ?

"And the winner for Group 6, Kite Eishirou of Higa!" somebody announced.

"EH!" the whole group yelled.

Kachiro and Katsuo were the unacceptable players who were watching this group. The two freshmen sweat dropped.

"Even in this fic, we're ignored! How dare you!" they yelled.

No one would've read how the games were played anyway. And so, someone out there fast-forwarded the time when they were playing and returned the normal time pace to when they finished the game.

"Hey, wait! Turn back time! This is our only screen time! Turn it ba—"

"Everyone! Gather up!" Yukimura announced.

"I said wait! Don't ignore us, you… you b—"

Kite Eishirou, the winner for the ignored group, was also wearing samurai clothes.

**:||~ThEfInAlGaMe~||:**

GROUP 7

(The 'Assorted Guys' Group)

"What does that name even mean?"

Sanada Genichirou of Rikkaidai, Kai Yuujirou and Chinen Hiroshi of Higa, Morii Tatsunori and Sakurai Masaya of Fudomine, Kaneda Ichirou and Nomura Takuya of St. Rudolph, and, Muromachi Touji, Nishikiori Tsubasa and Minami Kentarou of Yamabuki were the assorted men.

"Again, what does _that _even mean?" Kai grunted as he rolled his eyes.

"It means, you guys are the only ones left and had nothing similar to each other," rennomiya answered.

"Oh, I see," Nomura smiled. "At least I'm not in the 'ignored' group," he laughed.

"Actually, some of you guys had personalities suited to other groups (and most of you are suited at the 'Ignored Guys' group anyway). Except every group was already filled up so I had to put you in the left-out group. Oh! Why didn't I think of that! Let's change your group's name!"

*AHEM*

GROUP 7

(The 'Left-Out Guys' Group)

Sanada Genichirou of Rikkaidai, Kai Yuujirou and Chinen Hiroshi of Higa, Morii Tatsunori and Sakurai Masaya of Fudomine, Kaneda Ichirou and Nomura Takuya of St. Rudolph, and, Muromachi Touji, Nishikiori Tsubasa and Minami Kentarou of Yamabuki were the left-out men.

"On second thought, the former sounded much better," Sakurai said.

"I thought Yukimura was the one who distributed us? Why is the author interrupting?" Kaneda questioned.

. . . Anyway . . .

"I, the GREAT Horio, with TWO years of tennis EXPERIENCE, had picked out this group's number! Be amazed by my knowledge!" Horio boasted.

Sanada walked towards him and…

_SLAP_

"Shut up," the Emperor warned the freshman. Then, he returned to the courts without so much as a word.

Horio had tears coming out of his eyes as he held his cheeks, with a handprint already marked on it.

"Let's start our games!" Sanada yelled.

Before anyone could speak… rennomiya already interrupted them.

First match: Court R, doubles match between Minami Kentarou-Nishikiori Tsubasa (Yamabuki players) pair and Kaneda Ichirou-Nomura Takuya (St. Rudolph players) pair. Court S, doubles match between Kai Yuujirou-Chinen Hiroshi (Higa players) pair and Sakurai Masaya-Morii Tatsunori (Fudomine players) pair. Court T, singles match between Sanada Genichirou (Rikkai player) and Muromachi Touji (Yamabuki player).

The group will use Yukimura's proposed ten-minute limit per game.

"Since there is no other players left to judge the games, I, the GREAT Horio wi—"

_Someone _(you guys should already know) walked towards him and…

_SLAP_

"No. This would be self-judged," he said.

That _someone _returned to the courts. Horio sulked in a corner.

After ten minutes of a not-so intense tennis game…

Court R winner: Yamabuki (the school's specialty _is_,in fact, doubles).

Court S winner: Higa (since they're pretty violent).

Court T winner: Rikkai (it was obvious -.-)

Second match: Court R, singles match between schoolmates, Yamabuki vs. Yamabuki, Minami Kentarou and Nishikiori Tsubasa. Court S, singles match between schoolmates, Higa vs. Higa, Kai Yuujirou and Chinen Hiroshi. Court T, none at the moment.

"Hah! I suppose you guys would need a GREAT TWO-YEAR experienced TENNIS GENIUS to judge the game now! I, the AWESOME HORIO—"

_SLAP!_

Sanada was standing next to him (since the Emperor currently had no games to play… yet). Horio sulked in another corner again.

After ten minutes of so-so intense tennis game…

Court R winner: Nishikiori Tsubasa (no one knows who this is, but who cares).

Court S winner: Kai Yuujirou (he somehow proved himself).

Third match: Court R, singles match between Kai Yuujirou and Sanada Genichirou.

Horio stepped out proudly. "You don't need to ask! I, the GREAT Horio, would help you judg—"

_SLAP_

"Shut up," the Emperor said.

After ten minutes of heart-pounding tennis game…

Court R winner: Sanada Genichirou (he was already a national-level player, duh!)

Fourth and final match: Court R, singles match between Nishikiori Tsubasa and Sanada Genichirou.

"…"

Sanada turned his head to look at him.

"…"

Sanada glared intensely at him.

"(gulp) I… t-the g-g-g-reat H-Ho…ri…o, w-with t-two—"

_SLAP_

Sanada walked back to the courts.

His opponent, Nishikiori, sweat dropped. "The guy's not going to speak anymore and yet you… I never knew you were a sadist too…"

Sanada answered, "Who are you again?"

"Huh? I-I'm—"

_SLAP!_

Nishikiori fainted.

"Wow, you knocked him out!" Nomura said as he poked the fallen Nishikiori with a stick.

Kaneda nodded wisely, as if proud of what Sanada did. "And you didn't even hit the ball with you racquet. I'm quite impressed."

"Sanada's in the mood to slap people today…" Morii whispered to Masaya.

The winner of group 7 (no one complained on how the final match turned out), Sanada Genichirou.

'_Everything's still according to Yukimura's plan,' _Sanada thought proudly.

"Everyone! Gather up!" Yukimura announced.

Of course, Sanada was wearing Samurai clothes all along.

_SLAP!_

_SLAP!_

_SLAP!_

**:||~ThEfInAlGaMe~||:**

"The final game finally ends…" Sakuno said as she let out a sigh of relief, "Nothing inappropriate happened, thank God…"

Tomoka grinned. "But this is just the beginning of then end, Sakuno."

Sakuno looked at her with a weak smile. "I-I guess you're right, Tomo-chan…"

"Hime," Atobe suddenly popped out behind them, startling both of Tomo and Sakuno, "Ore-sama knows that deep inside, you wanted to watch _ore-sama's _game, but was forced to watch the brat's game instead. So, to compensate for your horrific loss, ore-sama shall spend his remaining time with you."

Sakuno sweat dropped. "W-Well… a-anou… y-you don't need to A-Atobe-san… Thanks anyway…" she said unsurely.

Atobe held both of her hands and stared deeply into her eyes. "Our deep love for each other surpasses all kinds of hardships."

"AH!" Marui yelled after they saw them and immediately ran towards the aforementioned deeply-in-love-lovers. "What the hell do you think you're doing with my wife? Get off of her!" he pointed an accusing finger to the King and began pulling him from Sakuno.

"WHAT?" Kin-chan's head suddenly popped out of everyone's view. "Oi, Crying Mole!" he called Atobe and ran towards him, "Get away from my Sa-chan!"

"Argh!" Marui glared at Kin-chan. "It's you again!"

Kin-chan pointed a finger to him. "You too! Get away from my cutie Sa-chan!"

"Tsk, commoners. How low," Atobe muttered and turned back to Sakuno while the two redheads began bickering with each other again. He let out his most _charming _eyes and stared at Sakuno with his usual you-should-be-honored-to-have-stolen-ore-sama's-heart look.

"Yarou!" another suitor of the braided girl, Kirihara, appeared too. "I'll CRUSH you!"

He pulled Sakuno away from Atobe. The King glared at him. "How dare you ruin ore-sama's love scene!"

Kirihara unconsciously pushed Sakuno to his side while he quarrels with Atobe. Meanwhile, because Kirihara pushed her aside, add the fact that she had the worse coordination among all of them, she tripped over her own foot and landed…

… Safely on her onii-sama's arms.

"Sakuno," Tezuka said, "It's good that you got out of there unharmed."

"O-Onii-sama!" Sakuno blushed embarrassingly. "G-Gomen… I-I was too clumsy…"

And smelling (yes, smelling!) his lifetime rival nearby, Atobe quickly ignored Kirihara's retort to their bickering and turned dramatically to Tezuka. He sparkled as he approached his greatest rival of all. "Ah, Tezuka. So you're here. Ore-sama heard you won for your group. That means you still have a chance to fight against ore-sama in the last step of the final game! [Insert evil laugh here] Be honored!"

Tezuka rolled his eyes. Before he could answer, he did not notice that someone already took Sakuno from his hold.

"Nya, Saku-chan! Come, come!" Kikumaru whispered to Sakuno while pushing her closer to Echizen.

"K-Kikumaru-senpai, anou…"

"Hush, hush! Tezuka and the others might hear you!" he whispered again and gave one last energetic push on her back. She stumbled forward and stopped just in time before bumping to Ryoma. "Good luck, nya!" Eiji cheered and hid behind a bush, to spy, probably. Only his _mission impossible _wasn't that much of a secret anymore.

Ryoma looked at her with his usual bored look.

Sakuno blushed and fidgeted with the hem of her skirt. She turned her head sideways to avoid his gaze. "A-A-Anou… c-congratu… lations…"

"I haven't won yet," he simply said.

Sakuno flushed redder. This time, with embarrassment. "Oh yeah… g-gomen…"

The two kept on facing each other with nothing else to say.

After a few minutes…

Yukimura appeared in front of them and cleared his throat.

"Yukimura-san!" Sakuno said with wide eyes.

Yukimura smiled at her genuinely. "Hello there, Sakuno-san. I apologize for what happened. I heard you lost your last VIP game…"

Sakuno blushed and weakly nodded.

The demigod patted her head lovingly. "Don't worry…

Everything will be fine," he said as he smiled reassuringly, "I'll protect you no matter what."

Sakuno looked at him confusedly.

Ryoma glared at Yukimura. And an unusual suspicion with the demigod building inside of him. '_What the hell is that guy thinking?'_

After Yukimura's gentle and kind conversation with Sakuno, he turned to the VIP gamers. He glared intensely at them, which is a first for some of those who are not close to him. "I said gather up. What part of it can't you understand?"

Some VIP gamers gulped in fear with the look on the always-smiling Rikkai captain and immediately ran towards the middle of the tennis courts. Some gamers simply lazily obeyed him.

**:||~ThEfInAlGaMe~||:**

At last, the final game officially ended. Yukimura thanked everyone for participating in the VIP game. Yukimura centered himself at the middle of the tennis courts, just like his entrance before. Everyone stayed (and because Yukimura _indirectly _forced them to do so) to see what the winners get, since Yukimura left them wondering what the winners of the final game will get.

"Anyway, those people who I'm about to call, please step forward," Yukimura asked gently as he was about to announce the winners.

Everyone gulped. What's the captain up to?

Ryoma stared indifferently at the guys in the middle. He opened his can of Ponta and drank its contents from it.

"I wonder what this last step in the final game is about?" he heard his Kikumaru-senpai asked loudly. Behind the prince were all of his senpai-tachi, the ichinen trio, Sakuno, and Tomoka.

Momo answered his senpai, "This final game is different from the 'Most Important Game'. But I wonder… which has a lot more points?"

"The final game decides on who'll win the VIP game in general. All of our hardships depend on this one last game," Oishi said seriously. "Unfortunately, only seven were chosen."

"But our score from our other games still count, right?" Taka asked timidly.

"Yeah, but the seven winners will definitely have a lead," Momo said.

"Kunimitsu Tezuka," Yukimura called.

Tezuka's glasses beamed and everyone around him looked at him. He walked towards where the Rikkaidai regulars were and stood in front of Yukimura. "What is it you want me to do?"

Yukimura smiled at him and asked him to stand aside first.

Atobe looked at Tezuka with a little hint of jealousy. Out of all the things he hate is being second to Tezuka… even if its just names being called.

"Atobe Keigo," Yukimura called. Atobe smirked and walked towards Yukimura but not before stopping next to Tezuka. He gave a triumphant smirk at his rival; as if telling him that he's not going to lose to him in the VIP game. Tezuka just stared back.

"What is it now? Ahn?" Atobe asked with his usual prideful voice. Yukimura asked him to stand at his far right side, opposite of where he asked Tezuka to stand.

"Next, Shiraishi Kuranosuke," Yukimura called again.

"Me?" Shiraishi pointed charmingly at himself. His teammates just gave him a pat on his back. He knew he won his games but the 'Bible of Shitenhouji' just thought that Yukimura will forget him. He walked towards Yukimura, who just asked him to stand beside him. Yukimura now was in the middle of Tezuka and Shiraishi.

At that time, Yukimura's teammates began dissipating. They disappeared inside their club room mysteriously.

"Of course, Genichirou," he looked at his fuku-buchou who just nodded and stood behind him, closer to Tezuka.

"Kite Eishirou," Yukimura called again.

Kite stepped in front, looking at Yukimura the same way they stared at each other earlier. "What are you planning?"

"You'll find out." Yukimura asked Kite to stand next to Sanada behind him.

"Last," Yukimura smirked at everyone, "Echizen Ryoma."

"Woah! O'chibi, he called you!" Eiji said excitingly as he pushed the freshman in front.

"Of course he'll call him. He won all his games," Taka said timidly. "And all at once, too. He's amazing."

Ryoma sighed and walked towards the guy he had the most hard time fighting with during the nationals. "Uissu," he greeted with a bored look.

"Please stand a little next to Atobe," Yukimura asked as he smiled gently.

"Hn" Ryoma surprisingly obeyed and stood to where Yukimura asked him to.

The VIP gamers stared at them wide-eyed, and a little frightened.

"It can't be," Sakuno whispered to herself. She gazed at Yukimura worriedly.

"Hai," Nanako nodded. Ryoga appeared next to her as she spoke, "Yukimura-san gathered all of them… as his final trump card… He knew the seven of them will win their games."

Ryoga crossed his arms behind his head and added, "It's all planned out. It's to finally destroy Nathan."

Sakuno shifted her worried gaze to Ryoga. "W-What!"

"Yukimura-san… had finally gathered the infamous… Ikemen Samurai (1)" Nanako explained further.

"Now," Yukimura said, "I think you all know what to call us." (2)

Ryoma and the other people involved looked at each other. They noticed that they were the most fearful ones in the tennis world. Atobe smirked and muttered an arrogant 'eh', Sanada closed his eyes, Tezuka turned his head to the gamers, Ryoma murmured something inaudible, Kite sighed, Shiraishi scratched his head and Yukimura kept on smiling.

It seemed like Yukimura purposely separated them from each other in the elimination round. The seven of them are_ absolute._

**:||~ThEfInAlGaMe~||:**

The other regular members of Rikkai gathered inside their clubroom. There were wires set up almost everywhere. A person not paying attention would trip over and over again because of the thick cables scattered around the floor. Those thick cable wires were all connected to different computer units. And each unit had one Rikkai regular using it. Niou had his headphones on as he looked at the computer screen in front of him. Marui blew his green gum and it reflected the video that was displayed on his own monitor. The redhead glucose-addict stared seriously at the screen, where it showed the blueprints of their University.

"You did great, Yanagi," he complimented.

"I suppose you managed to hack the school's database successfully," Niou smirked at him.

Yanagi nodded.

"Now, it's up to them to save Saku-chan," Kirihara muttered as he got into his position. He switched a button on and somewhere in the University's auditorium, a hidden camera turned on. "Camera 1: initiated" he said.

Niou turned his head back to his screen, "Camera 2: initiated." A hidden camera on the school's rooftop made a soft moving sound.

Marui printed seven copies of the school's blueprint and typed something on the keyboard. After a few seconds, he said, "Camera 3: initiated." Outside the University's auditorium, behind a tree's branches, a hidden camera's lenses focused on a guy with blonde hair.

His green gum popped.

"And target, sighted."

To Be Continued!

* * *

A/N: This chapter turned out to be light-read. Anyway, leave your comments. I promise a better chapter ^^ Oh, and sorry if I made Sanada a bit OOC there… Truth was, he was like that when I listened to his image song with Tezuka. Konomi's playing with the Emperor XD Don't forget to point out grammatical errors and misspelled words ;) I could use the improvement ;D

(1) The song group of Tenipuri, consist of Kite, Tezuka, Yukimura, Sanada, Atobe, Shiraishi and Echizen. They're the ones who sang 'Dear Prince~Tenisu no oujisama tachi e~', the ending song for the OVA.

(2) Their costumes would be the exact same ones as the CD cover of 'Dear Prince~Tenisu no oujisama tachi e~'. Just google it and type at images 'Ikemen Samurai' you'll see their pictures in their samurai costumes.

I LOVE REVIEWS! And I LOVE REVIEWERS even MORE because THEY make IT happen XD **AlphaSigma**, **demoncat13**, **yoyoyo**, **ILuvPurple16**, **SasoLOVE111**, **haninozuka** **mitsukuni**, **cielmikitoaloislvr**, **dijanexryoma-kun**, **Puppylove7**, **J**, **RyoSaku** **avid** **fan17 **and **xXxvanillaprincessxXx**  
!

Next time: The Ikemen samurai got into position. They initiated the perfect ambush. But will it succeed? Or will Nathan catch them?


	26. Ikemen Samurai

Chapter 26: Ikemen Samurai

_Marui printed seven copies of the school's blueprint and typed something on the keyboard. After a few seconds, he said, "Camera 3: initiated." Outside the University's auditorium, behind a tree's branches, a hidden camera's lenses focused on a guy with blonde hair. _

_His green gum popped._

"_And target, sighted."_

**:||~IkEmEnSaMuRaI~||:**

"WH-WHAT THE HECK IS GOING ON!" a surprised Aoi Kentarou yelled throughout the tennis courts.

"T-That's unfair, da-ne!" the 'dane duck', Yanagizawa Shinya of St. Rudolph cried.

Yuuta gulped. "Y-Yukimura-san purposely separated those seven so that it'd be their sure win!"

Yukimura sighed deeply. This was the primary reason why he only needed these six people behind him. The others would either be too loud, or will not understand the current situation they're in. He looked at his watch and saw that it was already 8:40 pm. He nodded. He still got time.

"Minna," Yukimura turned to the _Ikemen Samurai, "_Let's go. I needed to discuss something important with you guys."

They nodded unsurely.

"For the rest of the VIP gamers, again, thank you for participating. We, the Ikemen Samurai, would have the last step of the final game as a secret. I'll just announce the winner later. Sorry, but you guys mustn't know what the last step is."

There were a lot of complaining groans coming from the VIP gamers. Yukimura ignored them and led the Ikemen Samurais to the tennis team clubroom.

Meanwhile, a mysterious guy approached Sakuno while the others were preparing themselves (and changing back to their casual clothes) to go to the auditorium, where the closing ceremony will start.

"Ryuzaki-san, please come with me," he said.

Sakuno looked at him with wonder. "A-Anou… wh-who are you?"

He showed her his badge. Sakuno looked closer to see what it was. It revealed that he was a private bodyguard sent by Nathan. "Schaeffer-sama ordered me to protect you."

Sakuno gaped. "S-Sou ka… demo, doushite?"

"It's classified information. Anyway, please come with me and let me escort you to the auditorium," he said monotonously.

Sakuno just nodded and decided to follow him.

Tomoka, who was with the unacceptable players and Nanako and Ryoga, noticed Sakuno following someone. She narrowed her eyes and looked at the guy in blazers with suspicions.

**:||~IkEmEnSaMuRaI~||:**

Shiraishi, Atobe, Echizen, Tezuka and Kite stared dumbly at the seemingly high-technology things set up around the small vicinity of the clubroom.

Yukimura smiled charmingly as he sparkled with pride. "Welcome."

Marui saw them coming inside and stood up from his chair and handed Yukimura some papers. He popped a gum before he said, "Those are the blueprints of Rikkai."

Yukimura said to Yanagi, "Well done."

Yanagi nodded and proceeded on typing something on the keyboard.

"All 70 cameras are initiated already, Yukimura," Yagyuu said as his glasses reflected the screen.

"Nicely done, everyone." Yukimura smiled.

"A… nou… sa… Yukimura-kun…" Shiraishi interrupted. He scratched his head and looked at the ground in an I-think-you're-weird manner. "W-What's going on here?" he asked in behalf of the other confused samurais.

"That's why we asked you to come here. We're going to explain to you guys what's going on," Sanada answered.

Yukimura took an empty seat right next to another computer unit. He turned the chair around to face them as his back faced the computer. "Let me start…

There's a good reason why I made the final game that way. I divided the players into seven groups so that I'll get my seven players. These seven players are the well-thought out ones that would change the entire course of the festival's closing ceremony. I especially picked you guys out to make it happen. And to make it happen, I needed geniuses. Tennis geniuses that would surely win their group's tennis matches. And to leave the ones that should not be involved behind."

"What? Closing ceremony?" Kite asked as he glared at Yukimura.

Yukimura continued, "This University's owner is in cahoots with Nathaniel Schaeffer."

The samurais' eyes widened.

"That right," he continued once more, "Nathaniel is going to take over the University. The owner fears him because his family might take over the University if he doesn't get what he wants. And what he wants is the closing ceremony."

Shiraishi raised his bandaged hand as if asking a teacher a question. "Nathaniel wanted the closing ceremony? What do you mean by that?"

Yukimura's serious eyes turned sad. He deeply sighed and answered, "He's going to be the organizer of the closing ceremony. When the clock strikes nine, the whole University would be under him."

"So?" Ryoma asked. He was feeling irritated at the way Yukimura kept on going in circles. He just wanted him to be straightforward already.

"And according to him, he wanted the closing ceremony to be the official announcement of his engagement with Sakuno-san."

The samurais felt sudden loss of air.

The Rikkaidai tennis team regulars' eyes narrowed.

"In short, the closing ceremony would be the alternate version of Nathaniel and Sakuno-san's engagement party," the demigod explained further. He was sure that because of Sakuno, they'll all work together in harmony. They all care for her (except Kite, who couldn't care less about her) and some of them have fallen for the said girl. It was automatic that they'll stop what Nathan's planning.

Tezuka balled his fists. He sternly looked at the Rikkaidai regulars. "And that is why you left the other VIP gamers behind. To minimize the noise and to make the final game look innocent," he concluded, "otherwise, it'd be too obvious if all VIP gamers are involved."

Atobe looked at Tezuka with seriousness. The King added, "And the school officials would take action over us."

Yukimura smiled. "Yes, that's the exact reason.

And Nathan ordered the school officials to order us to make whoever wins that final game the _witness_ of their engagement, along with signing the contract to make everything else official. He just wanted to shove the fact that they're engaged to all VIP gamers, that's why he wanted the winner of the VIP game to do the job. That's why I was so careful on picking the right final game winner."

"Don't tell me we still need to do whatever that last step is. We don't have time! Hime's in trouble! And ore-sama must save her!" Atobe glared at Yukimura.

"Don't worry… there is really no last step. I just made that up to excuse ourselves from the VIP gamers," the demigod answered.

"So who is the final game winner? You can't have all seven of us as the winner," Atobe said. "Don't tell me it's you?"

Yukimura shook his head. He told them who he _picks _as the winner. Everyone nodded with no complaints. After all, it was only a show. The point is to save Sakuno from Nathan.

"Right now, the school's officials haven't noticed us yet," Sanada said, "And they only thought that the final game was just to end the VIP games."

Ryoma clutched his racquet tighter. "What are we going to do to stop it?" he asked in a demanding tone.

"Simple. We'll attack Nathan during his own game, and save my dear Sakuno no matter what," the demigod replied. The others kept on looking at him with seriousness.

Yukimura handed Sanada the blueprints and the latter distributed it to Tezuka and the others.

Yukimura stood up and walked towards a plain wall, while Jackal turned the LCD projector on. The wall suddenly projected the blueprints of the school.

"Listen up," Yukimura said, "I'm going to give you guys your assigned tasks, while my team here," he looked at his teammates who nodded at him, "would be your communicator. They'll lead you properly on where to go, what to do and who might be on to you."

He pointed at a part of the blueprint. "This is the main building's rooftop…"

And Yukimura began explaining the samurais' positions and their jobs.

"Remember that Nathan is our primary target!"

Everyone nodded and the Ikemen Samurai left the clubroom and went to their own positions.

**:||~IkEmEnSaMuRaI~||:**

Inside the huge auditorium had decorations of some sort. Every light was open and there were a lot of chairs placed in a neat position.

"Ryuzaki-san," the bodyguard called.

"H-Hai?" she asked.

"When the ceremony begins, walk over to the middle stage. Schaeffer-sama's waiting for you there."

"O-Okay…"

Other VIP gamers loitered around the huge auditorium. Even after the VIP games are finished, they all felt like there's still something that they need to finish. For some reason, they wanted to keep watch on the closing ceremony itself.

"Gekidasa daze," Shishido muttered irritatingly.

None of the Ikemen Samurai's teammates knew where they are and they got a wee bit suspicious. Other the fact that the closing ceremony was overly exaggerated with decorations, it was still suspicious.

**:||~IkEmEnSaMuRaI~||:**

A small communication device blinked on Shiraishi's right ear. He was lying on his stomach on the rooftop's tiled floor (everyone's still wearing Samurai clothes). He had a paralyzing gun prepared and was ready to shoot anyone. His position was on the left-side part of the main building. The main building has a left side and a right side, with a huge clock-tower on the middle. "Ah, ecstasy…" he whispered.

"Shiraishi, take this job seriously! Saku-chan's at stake!" Kirihara scolded through the communication device. The Junior Ace was still inside the clubroom with the other Rikkai regulars, guiding the Ikemen Samurai with their jobs.

"Yes, yes, don't worry," the bible said reassuringly.

"Make sure that you guys won't make any unnecessary moves before 9," Yukimura reminded. He was on the far right side of the auditorium. The auditorium is just in front of the main building. Right next to him is Sanada. No one seemed to have noticed the oddity of their positions yet, despite the scattered mysterious guys around the school. They're probably Nathan's men.

Meanwhile, on the right-side part of the main building, lay Tezuka with the same position as Shiraishi. Like Shiraishi, he had a paralyzing gun ready to shoot any moment.

Atobe was sitting on the clock-tower at the middle of the main building. Unlike Tezuka and Shiraishi, he had no paralyzing gun but he only had a cell phone at hand.

On another building on the far left-side of the auditorium, stood Ryoma. He was keeping a close eye on Sakuno as he watched her enter the auditorium with a mysterious guy.

"Ryuzaki's with someone," he said.

"That's just the bodyguard Nathan hired," Yagyuu explained. "Keep a close eye on him, too."

Ryoma nodded.

**:||~IkEmEnSaMuRaI~||:**

"Something… is definitely wrong…" Oshitari Yuushi said to his doubles partner, Gakuto.

Gakuto couldn't help but notice it too. "Aside from the overly-decorated auditorium… there are some suspicious men loitered around."

Back to where the Seigaku guys are…

"Yup, something is weird here," Momo whispered to Fuji and the others.

"And I can't help but notice that Echizen and Tezuka aren't back yet…" Fuji said.

"Nya, maybe they're part of the closing ceremony since they won the final game!" Eiji guessed.

"But Yukimura-san already announced that the winner of the final game is Kite-san, right?" Taka-san said.

"Even if Kite Eishirou had been officially declared as the winner, it's still peculiar not to see the other Ikemen Samurai back," Inui said monotonously.

"Maybe they had something else to do," Kaidoh said.

"I think—" Oishi was interrupted by a loud sound coming from inside the auditorium.

"Listen up everyone! The closing ceremony of the festival is about to start. Firstly, I want to thank everyone who…" a guy inside the auditorium announced through the speakers.

"Well, looks like we better go inside and watch the ceremony," Oishi said. The others nodded and they all went inside the auditorium.

**:||~IkEmEnSaMuRaI~||:**

The huge clock-tower's big hand turned north while its small hand turned west and it rang loudly.

"It's time!" Everyone involved in the _ambush _that Yukimura planned all thought.

Atobe laughed. He was at closest to the clock-tower. He stood up properly and dialed something on his phone. "Be awed by Ore-sama's prowess!"

**:||~IkEmEnSaMuRaI~||:**

After the announcer of the start of the ceremony finished the opening speech, a guy in-charged of the ceremony approached Sakuno. He asked Sakuno to sit on one of the chairs in the middle of the auditorium's stage. She was downright confused.

When she was about to ask for explanation, Nathan appeared behind the stage's back curtains. He walked towards the microphone. "Let me introduce myself," he said.

The people inside the auditorium watched the foreigner as he introduced himself. The whole vicinity was full of people who visited the festival, and among those people were VIP gamers, who had shock filled their eyes.

"W-What's Nathan doing there?" Ootori asked confusedly.

The other gamers who knew him only gaped.

"S-Sakuno…" Tomoka muttered worriedly.

"Nathaniel Schaeffer, 13 years old. But who gives a damn about that," he said arrogantly.

"Anyway, I'm here to find out whether the Schaeffers will take over Rikkaidai or not. If this ceremony goes according to what I want, then I won't do anything to this school."

The audience stared at him like he was an alien.

"Oh, and this closing ceremony… can also be translated to my engagement party with Ryuzaki Sakuno," he added when he noticed the weird look the audience was giving him.

Sakuno's eyes widened. "E-E-EH?"

Her yell caught everyone's attention. Nathan turned to her and smirked. "Yep, we're officially engaged, Sakuno."

"UNBELIEVABLE!" some VIP gamers yelled and began complaining (especially those who were attracted to her).

"N-Nathan-kun, this is—" she was cut off when her bodyguard carried her towards the stage and let her sit next to Nathan.

"Yo, fiancé," Nathan grinned boyishly.

"Nathan-kun, I don't—" she paused when she saw Kite Eishirou, the proclaimed winner of the final game staring at her right next to Nathan.

"Just enjoy the ceremony, Sakuno," Nathan said. "This Kite guy's purpose is to sign our engagement contract as the witness of this event."

Sakuno's brows narrowed. "Nathan-kun, what you're doing isn't right and—"

Nathan showed her a piece of paper with her signature at the bottom. Right next to her signature was Nathan's signature. She immediately recognized the paper. "T-That's the…"

"It's our engagement contract," he explained. "Right, Kite-san?"

Kite exhaled impatiently.

The audience, including some VIP gamers, started to gather around the buffet table. Kite examined each one. Ignoring his fat teammate, Tanishi, eating almost everything at that table, he saw the other VIP gamers looking at him intently.

Either they were mad at Kite for winning the VIP game even though he just played the final game, or they were suspicious on something else. OR they hated what was going on and what Nathan was doing to their Ryuzaki Sakuno.

After a few more minutes, he saw Ryoma entering the auditorium.

"_It's almost time, I suppose,"_ Kite thought.

**:||~IkEmEnSaMuRaI~||:**

"Echizen safely got inside with no one behind his tracks," Yagyuu said through the speakers.

"Atobe, do it," Yukimura said calmly through the communication device.

Atobe laughed arrogantly. "Drop the smoke bombs," he said to the person in the other line of his phone.

Three helicopters flew around the university and started dropping something to the grounds. But most of the things that were dropped were aimed directly at the auditorium. And after those things hit the ground, it released smoke.

The people inside the auditorium panicked.

Nathan just smirked. "_I knew they'd do this._"

The suspicious guys roaming around the university were actually guys summoned by Nathan from his family's army in case of the VIP gamers' rebellions. He quite expected this, actually.

Sakuno turned her head to her right, then to her left. She was confused and doesn't know what to do. She can't even see a thing because of the thick smoke.

One of the suspicious men outside ran towards the auditorium, about to protect his master Nathaniel, but due to some unknown reason, his body got paralyzed.

His paralyzed body was shot by none other than Shiraishi Kuranosuke from the rooftop. "I won't let you take away Kin-chan's future wife. I can't believe that being a sniper could be this fun!"

"Tezuka, there's another guy running towards the auditorium. Northeastern part of the target area. Currently running towards area 3!" Jackal said through his speaker. Because of the smoke, the snipers couldn't see a thing but blur shadows. But thanks to the Rikkai regulars and their hidden cameras, they helped the snipers target the right people.

Tezuka nodded. He saw the shadow of the person Jackal was pertaining to. He aimed his paralyzing gun, and boom! He succeeded.

"Shiraishi, another one going to area 23! Western part! And another one at area 13!" Kirihara yelled.

"Yosh!" Shiraishi said and began aiming and shooting his gun again.

"They're running to protect their precious master, huh? Well too bad," Atobe smirked.

Meanwhile, Yukimura and Sanada were ambushing the army men from the grounds. And because of the smoke bombs, the army men can't see them and vise versa. But Yukimura and Sanada had back-ups, and they're the Rikkaidai regulars.

"Yukimura! Three steps right and four steps forward!"

"Sanada, behind you! Dodge his knife quick!"

Sanada and Yukimura both have katanas on them.

"No problem!" Yukimura said as he slashed the guy where Marui guided him to. "Aerial and ground forces… the perfect ambushing plan," he muttered under his breath.

"Shoot! They got back up!" one of the army men said.

**:||~IkEmEnSaMuRaI~||:**

"_Seems like Yukimura really planned this out. They're ambushing my army," _Nathan thought. He was about to grab Sakuno when he felt something cold and metallic on his neck.

"I think you already know what I'm holding," Kite said.

"A knife," Nathan answered with indifference.

"Don't make any move," Kite warned.

Nathan smirked.

Sakuno's bodyguard was holding her on his arms. "Don't panic, Ryuzaki-san. I'll protect you."

"She doesn't need you," a familiar voice said.

The smoke still hasn't cleared off and the bodyguard turned his head everywhere to see where the voice was coming from.

Amber eyes glowed in front of him and before he could react, the mysterious person already kicked his face.

And before the bodyguard could stand up, the mysterious person immediately grabbed Sakuno's wrist and dragged her away.

"R-Ryuzaki-san!" the bodyguard shouted.

Nathan heard this.

And so did Kite. "Ryuzaki Sakuno is finally on our hands," he said confidently to Nathan, who still had his knife pointed to his neck.

Nathan smirked again. "Don't be too sure of yourself." He turned his head to a shadow behind the thick smoke. He signaled him and the shadow nodded before he disappeared. "_Yes, follow her. Do what it takes to get her back."_

Kite narrowed his brows. "Who's that? Answer me if you don't want me to slice your head off!"

Kite didn't hear Nathan's answer because the next thing he knew, he was falling on the ground.

"W-What the?" Kite turned his head around to see who attacked him from behind, and saw it was Sakuno's bodyguard. "_What the! Didn't Echizen just…"_

Black.

**:||~IkEmEnSaMuRaI~||:**

Kirihara narrowed his brows. "Kite Eishirou's communication line went off."

"What!" Jackal stood up in panic. "How was that—"

He was cut off when Yanagi yelled, "TEZUKA, BEHIND YOU!"

**:||~IkEmEnSaMuRaI~||:**

Tezuka was too late to react. He only saw a flash of something black before he realized that someone stabbed his right arm. After he regained consciousness, he stood up and faced the guy who stabbed him.

One of Nathan's army men.

Tezuka glared at him. Good thing the stab he made wasn't that deep. Still, the cut was dripping with blood.

But more importantly, how did he find out where he was?

**:||~IkEmEnSaMuRaI~||:**

Sakuno was being dragged away outside the University's area. And before she knew it, she was already on the main road, with only the streetlights serving as the city's lights.

The person who dragged her away stopped as they were turning towards a corner in the sidewalk. He deeply exhaled before he turned to her. "You're safe," he said monotonously.

"Ryoma-kun…"

And realizing it was not the perfect time to stand around and stare at him, she immediately asked, "W-What's going on? What's with the smoke? I don't understand wha—" she stopped talking when she saw a person sneaking behind Ryoma, "—Watch out!" She pushed Ryoma out of the way.

The two of them fell on the cemented ground, and Ryoma accidentally hit his back on a post. Ryoma ignored the pain he felt and looked at Ryuzaki, who was sitting on top of him. "Ryuzaki!"

He looked up and saw the familiar figure that sneaked up on him. "You!" he groaned angrily.

"I was ordered by Nathaniel-sama to follow you, since you took her away," he said in a cold voice.

And with a passing car's headlights, it revealed his face that was once covered with shadows.

"Yoroshiku. Boku no namae wa… (1)"

Ryoma was now in deep trouble.

To be continued.

* * *

(1) "Nice to meet you. My name is…"

A/N: How'd you like the action so far? I honestly had fun writing this chapter XD Anyway, please leave a review on what you think and stay tuned ^^

The reviewers last chap: **SasoLOVE111**, **demoncat13**, **Jao** **Jao**, **J**, **ScarletMoon**, **xXxvanillaprincessxXx**, **Kei**, **Sweet** **Razzberry**, **celtic27fionn**, **haninozuka** **mitsukuni**, **spiderweb**, **Puppylove7**, and **yoyoyo**! And also, thanks for reviewing my other one-shot fics ^^

Oh, and to **xXxvanillaprincessxXx**: I'm sorry, I won't be able to tend to your request of a horror fic :( I'm not good with horror, heck I don't even like watching horror :( But maybe, I could dedicate a humor/romance fic to you :) I hope that's fine. I'm so sorry again for declining :( And anyway... since you've requested this fic's update immediately.. HERE IT IS! I hope you like chap 26 ^^

Next time: Is it really the end for Kite and Ryoma? And what happened to Tezuka? And what did Yukimura notice something odd with Nathan? Will they succeed or will Nathan's army defeat them? And what's this? New allies? Or are they enemies? Who are they? FIND OUT NEXT TIME!


	27. Battlefield

Chapter 27: Battlefield

"_I was ordered by Nathaniel-sama to follow you, since you took her away," he said in a cold voice._

_And with a passing car's headlights, it revealed his face that was covered with shadows. _

"_Yoroshiku. Boku no namae wa…"_

_Ryoma was now in deep trouble._

**:||~BaTtLeFiElD~||:**

"What happened to Tezuka and Kite?" Yukimura asked in panic through the communication device.

"There was a figure lurking behind Tezuka. After Yanagi-senpai warned him, the line went off!" Kirihara answered.

Yukimura went quiet. He needed to believe in everyone. Everyone's going to be safe. "It's fine. Tezuka will be fine," he said to everyone.

"Yukimura, Kite's communication line went off, but I can still see his tracking device blinking. He's still inside the auditorium next to Nathan!" Yagyuu said.

"Something must've happened to him," Yukimura concluded, "Niou! Take over his position!" he ordered.

Niou nodded and went out of the clubroom, ready to give a hand to the Higa captain, only to get surprise when he saw a group of men surrounding the clubroom. "Anou… I think we're in trouble," Niou grinned nervously at the people around him.

"What do you mean?" Yukimura asked. Then there was a static sound. "Niou? Niou!" he called but no answer came.

"Yanagi, what happened to Niou? You've got a tracking device on him as well right?" Yukimura asked in panic.

A soldier was about to punch Yukimura from behind when Sanada blocked him.

"Be careful Yukimura!" Sanada scolded.

Yukimura shot him a grateful look and nodded. "Yanagi! Answer me!" he practically yelled to the communication device. "Why won't he answer?"

"No one's talking anymore," Sanada said as he took out another random guy attacking them.

Yukimura looked at him with worry. "Don't tell me that they've gotten the clubroom, too? Why now when we're in danger!"

"Focus, Yukimura," Sanada said gently. "Right now, the only thing we could do is trust them. Now that the smoke is clearing off, the enemy can see us clearly."

Yukimura nodded and watched the smoke slowly clearing before him.

"The only thing we need to do is to finish what you've assigned us to do," the emperor added.

Yukimura smiled gently and proceeded on pointing his katana on the army men…

… That somehow managed to surround them completely.

**:||~BaTtLeFiElD~||:**

"The smoke's finally cleared," Nathan said. He turned to the person who knocked Kite out, Sakuno's previous bodyguard. "I didn't expect you to save me at all. I ordered you to protect Sakuno."

"I was defeated by the boy with amber eyes. I couldn't take the chance of following him knowing that you're currently threatened by four-eyes here," he said as he kicked Kite's leg.

"Anyway, the offense on us now," Nathan said as he smirked.

"And Ezekiel would take care of Ryuzaki-san for me," the bodyguard added.

Nathan looked at him for a second before he smiled. "Yes, Ezekiel."

**:||~BaTtLeFiElD~||:**

"Ezekiel Gradstein desu," he finished.

Ryoma glared at him.

"Please hand Ryuzaki-san over."

"Yadda," was Ryoma's bratty reply.

Ezekiel kept on eyeing him with seriousness. "You do know that I'm a warrior, right? You have no chances against me. You're only a normal middle-school student."

"I said no."

"Suit yourself," Ezekiel said and swiftly ran towards Ryoma and grabbed him by his neck.

"Ryoma-kun!"

He tightened his grip on the tennis prince's neck. "Don't say I didn't warn you."

Ryoma struggled and kept on attempting to remove Ezekiel's hand on his neck. He was strangling him for goodness sake! He slowly opened his eyes as he gritted his teeth. "Y-Ya… rou…"

"Cursing me won't do you any good." Ezekiel tightened his grip even more.

"Stop it, Ezekiel-san! Stop hurting him!" Sakuno was in verge of crying.

Ezekiel looked at her with his eyes. His eyes were still bearing seriousness—no, maybe it was bearing his murderous intentions. "Sorry Ryuzaki-san. I needed to do this. I didn't want to do it, but he forced me to do so."

Sakuno narrowed her brows. She stood up and grabbed Ezekiel's wrist which was strangling Ryoma. She tried with all her strength to remove his hand from the prince's neck. "Let go of him!"

But her strength was useless. Ezekiel didn't even budge.

"Ryoma-kun," she cried hopelessly as she gripped Ezekiel's wrist.

"Ryu… za… ki… r-run…" Ryoma said.

Sakuno shook her head. "No! I won't go anywhere without you!" she yelled as she kept on removing Ezekiel's hand from his neck.

"Oh don't worry, Echizen-kun. I won't hurt her. I'm not allowed to hurt her. So, the only thing you can do now is to tell me that you're giving her up," Ezekiel said in his unusually cold voice.

"How could you, Ezekiel-san! You were so nice to me earlier today!" Sakuno's tears dropped on the ground.

Ryoma could feel his consciousness slowly fading away.

"Ryu… za… ki…"

**:||~BaTtLeFiElD~||:**

Tezuka stared at the American guy who just stabbed his arm. And besides that, he couldn't hear anything from the communication line anymore. He hopefully wished that everyone was fine, and that if there's any trouble, it was only on his side.

The soldier charged towards him with a dagger and Tezuka side-stepped his way out. Right now, his paralyzing weapon was kicked at the far end corner of the rooftop by that guy. He needed to get that gun back, or else he'd be finished.

He ran towards the soldier. As he was in front of him, he dodges every single attack the guy was giving him. There was no way would he let these guys get his little sister! He was the one on duty to protect her at all times! He won't give up!

The guy slashed a cut on his cheek.

Tezuka closed one eye and tried to ignore the pain. He needed to get to the gun no matter what. And to do that, he needed to go around this guy without getting injured. The guy was about to stab his neck when Tezuka's reflexes saved him. He successfully caught the guy's wrist, but he didn't see the next one coming.

"You're no match for me KID!" the soldier was about to stab Tezuka's leg with his other hand that was holding another knife when an unfamiliar hand stopped it.

Tezuka stopped moving when he saw the familiar person who stopped the American soldier.

The newly-arrived person laughed arrogantly. "Ore-sama would never let a puny little commoner like you destroy his rival."

Tezuka's eyes burned with relief. "Atobe…"

"If ever there's a person who'd destroy Tezuka, it would be Ore-sama!"

Atobe said proudly and punched the soldier straight in the face.

After the soldier was out cold, he flipped his hair and smirked. "Be awed by Ore-sama's prowess!"

"Atobe… you…"

Atobe turned to Tezuka and smirked even more. "Such a small world, isn't it?"

Tezuka smiled a little. "Sou…"

"Anyway, these guys are weak. To get defeated by a middle-school student."

Then, Tezuka realized something. "What happened to the communication line?"

"Ore-sama doesn't know. But Ore-sama heard Yanagi yelling '_TEZUKA, BEHIND YOU!' _so he thought that you were in trouble and needed some help."

Tezuka turned his gaze on the auditorium. "Sakuno…"

He really hoped she was going fine.

"Ore-sama's Hime needed him now more than ever. Ore-sama shall break Nathan's neck for making her suffer!" Atobe threatened Nathan as he looked at the auditorium's roof. He cracked his knuckles and jumped to the fence surrounding the rooftop.

The good thing in Yukimura's plan was to get Sakuno as far away from the battlefield as possible. The bad thing in it was _Echizen _was the one assigned to take her away. "Why didn't that stupid demigod let ore-sama do that job? It's obvious ore-sama will do better than the brat."

**:||~BaTtLeFiElD~||:**

"Genichirou… there's too many of them…" Yukimura narrowed his brows as he was back-to-back with Sanada.

Sanada nodded. They were now completely surrounded by army men. With only two of them at the middle.

"But you know what, I feel like there is something wrong," Yukimura said.

"What?"

"I haven't seen Ezekiel Gradstein at all. And before the communication lines were out, Akaya and the others never mentioned about seeing him at all. And based on my plan, one of our main priorities, besides targeting Nathan and saving Sakuno-san, was to paralyze him since he's the strongest fighter out there."

Sanada lowered his head a bit, thinking the same thing. Something is off. "Where is that Ezekiel person…"

The army men moved to charge towards them all at once. They were on the verge of giving up when…

"I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU GUYS DIDN'T EVEN GIVE ME A ROLE!" a loud voice yelled as he spun around in mid-air and kicked a handful soldiers out.

He landed safely on the middle where Sanada and Yukimura were.

He stood up properly and smirked, "You gave Koshimae a role, so why didn't you give one to me? It's unfair and annoying!"

Tooyama Kintarou.

"W-What are you doing here?" Yukimura was definitely surprised.

"Geez, the smoke bomb was the give-away!" Kin-chan replied.

"What do you mean?"

"I read in a manga before about the main characters ambushing the villain. But it turned out that the villain knew what was going on and was prepared! It was clichéd!" Kintarou said as he began kicking and punching random soldiers around.

When he squatted after he was finished with another handful of men, he continued, "And I'm not alone! Every VIP gamer found out about it and we're ready to help!" He grinned childishly.

"That right~" a gay-ish voice said. "I can't believe you thought that the other VIP gamers were just going to get in your way~"

A few soldiers went down as the voice went closer. And standing in the middle, were the whole team of Shitenhouji.

"And Kuranosuke-chan's a part of it too, mou!" Koharu complained.

"Now, you wouldn't think of us as a bother anymore, would you?" Zaizen appeared behind Yukimura with his normal bored look.

"Look out for the speed star of Naniwa!" Oshitari Kenya yelled as he charged towards other soldiers.

Yukimura smiled after everything finally sink in. "Gomen, minna. I just thought that I needed to make the final game as inconspicuous as possible."

"Well by the way things are going right now, it's not that inconspicuous anymore, is it?" Zaizen said as he pressed something on a random soldier's nape.

"W-Well…" Yukimura's voice faded. "_It _is supposed to _look _innocent before _it _starts. And… w-well…"

"What, you think we'd give the secret away before you start the ambush~?" Koharu pouted.

Sanada sighed. "Anyway…"

Kin-chan grinned once more.

"There are the villain's minions that we need to take down first! And then we'll save my wife!"

And the Shitenhouji regulars and Yukimura and Sanada charged towards the army men.

**:||~BaTtLeFiElD~||:**

"The communication line's off…" Shiraishi said as he took out the device from his ear. "I guess I should just improvise then," he stood up with the paralyzing gun in his arms. He climbed the diamond fence of the rooftop and stood dramatically at the edge. Then, he jumped down.

And landed safely on the auditorium's roof.

He was on the glass part of the rooftop where he can see the inside of the building. He saw from there Nathaniel still sitting casually with an unknown guy and Kite lying on the floor.

"So I guess Kite's out, huh. Oh wait… he's still fine." He smiled to himself, "I think I need to help him with his role then!" He punched the glass-ceiling/roof with his bandaged hand. The shattered pieces were shining as it fell near Nathaniel's area. Nathaniel looked up and saw Shiraishi falling on him.

**:||~BaTtLeFiElD~||:**

The Rikkaidai regulars panted hard. They were just outside the clubroom.

Beside them were a piled-up bunch of army men who tried to ambush the clubroom but failed miserably.

"Never underestimate normal tennis club regulars! Because normal tennis club regulars can defy the laws of physics and gravity! Bwahahaha!" Kirihara laughed as he pointed a mocking finger at the mountain of fainted army men.

When Niou went outside earlier, he saw those army men surrounding the clubroom. He asked a little help from his teammates, and a little brawling between the soldiers and the tennis players took place.

Niou smiled. "They sure did a good fight though." Then, he turned his head towards the auditorium. "See you guys, I needed to follow Seiichi-chan's orders!" Niou ran towards the auditorium.

"We'll come, too," Jackal was about to follow him when Niou said, "You guys better keep on guiding the Ikemen Samurai with their missions! Stay there!"

And Niou was gone.

"He just wanted to be the hero," Marui popped a gum.

"Our roles are important too. We better listen to him," Yanagi said and walked back inside the clubroom.

**:||~BaTtLeFiElD~||:**

A hand grabbed Ezekiel's shoulder and pulled him away from Ryoma.

Ryoma dropped on the ground, coughing. He raised his head to look at what happened and his eyes gleamed with glee.

And stood in front of him and Sakuno were the remaining Seigaku regulars.

"We already know what's going on Echizen," Fuji said, "But you could've at least let us in with your little plan."

Ryoma closed his eyes. He retorted with his usual arrogant tone, "It wasn't my plan. But if it was, it would be flawless."

His arrogant tone covered the relief he felt after he saw them.

"Ryoma-kun!" Sakuno hugged Ryoma out of happiness. "I… I thought you were… you were…" she continued crying tears of joy.

"Aw! How cute, nya!" Eiji teased. He grinned mischievously at his kouhais before he turned to face Ezekiel seriously.

"Take it easy guys," Oishi said in a mother-like tone, "He's a trained combat professional."

Momo grinned like a bully and cracked his hands as he said, "Street fighters don't need to be trained at this field."

Oishi looked at him in panic, "Field? What do you mean, Momo?"

"Fist fight," Kaidoh answered for him. "And I haven't done some in a while."

Momo smirked at Kaidoh. "We'll take him down, eh Kaidoh?"

Kaidoh hissed.

"Take me down?" Ezekiel said with a disbelieving tone. He removed Taka-san's hand on his shoulder and looked at them with warrior-like eyes. "I beg to differ."

"Let's stop talking and start punching!" Momo yelled as he ran towards Ezekiel and gave him a punch straight to his face. But Ezekiel was faster. He ducked down and punched Momo's stomach. While he was doing this to Momo, though, Kaidoh was already on the middle of kicking his chest. Ezekiel's reflexes was quick and he jumped backwards, slightly successful in missing Kaidoh's kick.

"So," Ezekiel coughed since Kaidoh managed to hit his chest slightly, "you guys are fighters too now? You guys seem to do great on every little thing you do."

"Not saying we're arrogant, but we do have that kind of talent." Fuji chuckled.

Oishi ran to Momo, who was kneeling on the ground. "Momo! Are you alright?"

Momo coughed a bit before answering. "I'm fine, senpai. But that guy's punch is good."

"Senpai-tachi," Ryoma called. They looked at Ryoma. "You better let me finish my fight with him."

They saw Ryoma's eyes filled with anger and determination.

"He made Ryuzaki cry," he explained.

Everyone was staring at him with seriousness as Ryoma's aura began to change. He's letting out his _Muga no Kyouchi _for some reason.

The senpais snickered teasingly.

Ryoma's dramatic aura disappeared. He blushed in embarrassment. "Why the hell are you guys laughing?"

The senpais all turned into chibis. "O'chibi is so cool isn't he?" Eiji said as he looked at Ryoma with teasing eyes.

"Echizen's ready to protect his girlfriend," Momo said as the hole on his nose grew bigger.

"'Young love' as what Momo always say," Fuji said with his smiling face.

Taka and Oishi wolf-whistled.

"Ii data…" chibi Inui muttered.

"Arrogant brat," chibi Kaidoh snorted.

Ryoma snapped. "SHUT UP!"

He looked at Sakuno who blushed in return. "A-Anou… R-Ryoma-kun… g-ganbatte…"

"Ah," he replied.

The chibi senpais teased him again.

"I SAID SHUT UP!"

Ezekiel's eyes narrowed. So it was Echizen Ryoma who stole Ryuzaki Sakuno's heart. He lowered his head. His Kaicho would definitely like it better if he completely destroys that guy.

**:||~BaTtLeFiElD~||:**

The computer units inside the clubroom all turned on again. Tezuka and Atobe noticed their communication devices were blinking again. "The communication's fix," Atobe said.

"Time for payback," Yukimura said after he, Sanada and the Shitenhouji team finished their business with the army that surrounded them a moment ago.

"Sorry we were out for a while, everyone," Yagyuu said through the small microphone.

"Some random armies were also ambushing us," Kirihara smirked. "But we took care of them."

"Anyway, back to our job," Yanagi said. Then, he saw something on his computer screen. "Shiraishi, what are you doing there?"

Yukimura, Sanada, Atobe and Tezuka got curious. "What do you mean with that Yanagi? Where's Shiraishi?" Yukimura asked.

"Oh, so the communication's back on. That's good," Shiraishi said as he smiled.

"Where are you, Shiraishi?" Tezuka asked sternly.

"You moved from your position without even anyone's permission!" Sanada scolded.

"Gomen, gomen. I just didn't know what to do after the line was cut off," Shiraishi reasoned.

"You were careless, and you let your guard down," Tezuka commented.

Shiraishi grinned. "Yes, I was careless," he said before he looked at the ground, "but I think I'm not the one who let my guard down."

"What do you mean?" Atobe asked.

"Shiraishi's inside the auditorium, at a very close distance with an unmoving Nathaniel," Yanagi said.

Yukimura, Sanada, Atobe and Tezuka's eyes widened. "Shiraishi, you defeated Nathan?" they asked expectantly.

Shiraishi smiled. "No, I didn't."

"Then, are you captured!" Jackal asked in panic, "Quick, Atobe, Tezuka! You guys are the ones closest to the audito—"

Shiraishi cut him off, "Take it easy, baldy."

"Eh?"

"Who are you talking to, huh? Huh? Is that Shiraishi? Lemme talk to him! Lemme!" The ones with the communicator heard Kintarou's distinct voice on the other side of Yukimura's receiver.

"Ah, gomen. I forgot to mention… Shitenhouji helped us," Yukimura said.

Shiraishi smiled. "Yes. I figured that as well."

"So what are you doing there inside the auditorium, with Nathaniel at least?" Sanada asked stoically.

Shiraishi smirked. He told them what happened.

_Shiraishi punched the glass-ceiling/roof with his bandaged hand. The shattered pieces were shining as it fell near Nathaniel's area. Nathaniel looked up and saw Shiraishi falling on him._

_Nathan side-stepped and glared at Shiraishi as the latter straightened up. _

"_Yo Nathan-san," Shiraishi greeted with his usual boyish charm._

"_I assume you're here to avenge your friend," Nathan said as he gestured to the unconscious Kite on the ground._

_Shiraishi laughed. "What's so funny?" Nathan asked irritatingly._

_Shiraishi stopped laughing. He looked at Nathan seriously. "You think Kite-kun will fall that easily? Yukimura didn't pick us as the chosen ones if we're that weak."_

_Nathan stepped one foot backwards. "W-What?" He inwardly panicked. Shiraishi was proclaiming that Kite was still not yet out cold! He looked at the unconscious Kite and began to think that the Bible of Shitenhouji was only bluffing. "That's a bluff."_

"_Think again," Nathan heard someone say._

_And before he knows it, Kite disappeared from the ground and was behind Sakuno's previous bodyguard and knocked him out cold._

"_Michael!" Nathan yelled as 'Michael' fell on the ground._

_And then, the students of Higa, St. Rudolph, Yamabuki, Fudomine, Hyotei, Rokkaku and Jyosei Shonan entered the auditorium. They surrounded Nathan._

"_Game's over for you." Shiraishi smirked._

_Nathan groaned and just stood there still._

_And that's when Shiraishi heard from his communication device the other Ikemen Samurai's voices. And he heard Yanagi asking him what he was doing there._

"_Oh, so the communication's back on. That's good," Shiraishi said as he smiled._

"And that's what happened. So consider Nathaniel Schaeffer taken care of," Shiraishi said.

"Oi, Yukimura!" some voices of the VIP gamers yelled and was heard through Shiraishi's communication device. "How dare you consider us as bothersome?" they yelled furiously. They now got Shiraishi's communication device and yelled on it.

Yukimura smiled apologetically. "Gomen. I just don't want to involve those who might make the plan backfire."

"BACKFIRE! Why you little!"

And the VIP gamers kept on verbally bullying Yukimura, who only just smiled apologetically in return. The Rikkaidai regulars and the Ikemen Samurai can hear them and just sweat dropped. Except for one tennis prince who was quiet all this time and thought the bickering VIP gamers were too noisy and annoying.

Kirihara sighed. Then he remembered Echizen. "Oi, brat! Nathan's surrounded now. His army's gone. He's considered defeated. Get Saku-chan back here now."

"No," Ryoma replied.

Kirihara glared at the monitor where it showed where Ryoma was. "What do you mean no? I said—"

"I'm fighting that guy's friend right now," was Ryoma's monotonous reply.

"Eh?"

Yanagi heard this. "Nathan's friend?"

Yukimura and the VIP gamers stopped bickering when they heard Ryoma.

"You mean Ezekiel Gradstein!" Atobe practically yelled.

Tezuka's brows narrowed. "Tell me where you are now, Echizen!"

"Yadda," Ryoma replied in a bratty tone. Then they heard him wincing in pain.

"ECHIZEN!" Tezuka scolded.

"Echizen is on the main road right now. At XXXX street. They're at the sidewalk," Yanagi provided the information.

Tezuka nodded and jumped to the fence where Atobe was standing. And without giving the King a warning, he jumped down and landed on the auditorium's roof. He jumped down again to the ground and ran straight outside the school.

"Tezuka's got guts," Atobe said as he stared at Tezuka's disappearing figure. "All of this for his pillar, huh?"

"No, this is for my sister," Tezuka replied when he heard Atobe speak through the communication device.

Oh crap.

The VIP gamers (and Atobe) realized the situation. Echizen was with their precious, precious Sakuno-chan… who was currently fighting Ezekiel Gradstein… who was a trained combat professional. Atobe narrowed his brows. _The great Atobe _also wanted to protect his Hime!

"SAKUNO-CHAN!" The auditorium shook when most of them yelled at the same time.

Nathaniel smirked. "You've just realized?"

Then, some VIP gamers ran out of the auditorium and into where Ryoma was.

"W-Wait, we need to hold Nathaniel… here…" Shiraishi said but everyone was fast.

And anyway, there were still other VIP gamers left there. Gamers who were not attached to Sakuno.

Then, Niou entered the auditorium with his smirking face. "Yo, Nathan-_chan."_

**:||~BaTtLeFiElD~||:**

Momoshiro and the others understood what Ryoma meant when he said that he wanted to take care of Ezekiel alone. Oishi protested of course, but Ryoma was persistent and he would never back down on a fight.

And so, the Seigaku regulars just stood in front of Sakuno, shielding her, in case another guy comes out and takes her away.

"This is not tennis," Ezekiel warned.

"I know," Ryoma smirked arrogantly.

Then, the tennis prince charged with full force towards Ezekiel. True, he was never brought up by his parents to engage in a fist fight with a random guy, but this was a matter of saving Ryuzaki or not. If Ezekiel wins, then Nathan will get her. He'll gamble everything, just to make sure she was safe.

Ezekiel blocked Ryoma's attack and wrapped his arm around Ryoma's left arm. He performed judo on him and flipped Ryoma to his back. The tennis prince glared at him as he was lying on his back. "Yarou…"

He stood up again and violently grabbed Ezekiel's collar. He pulled him closer and slammed his forehead on the teddy-bear-lover's forehead. After they pulled apart, their forehead started bleeding.

"Echizen/Ryoma-kun!"

Ryoma immediately punched Ezekiel squarely in the face. Ezekiel purposely didn't dodge it and just let Ryoma do the punching and kicking and elbowing.

After Ryoma was done, he panted.

Then, Ryoma heard through the little communication device on his ear other people's voices. It seemed that the lines were on again. He heard Shiraishi talking with the others, and later, heard VIP gamers bickering with the demigod.

"Your attacks… it didn't even hurt," Ezekiel said and mocked him.

Ryoma glared at him.

Ezekiel pulled back then ran towards Ryoma with another full force. "It was true," he said as he elbowed Ryoma's chin, "It was like I didn't feel a thing," he continued as he kneed Ryoma's stomach.

Ryoma was pushed back. He heard Kirihara suddenly talking to him.

"Oi, brat! Nathan's surrounded now. His army's gone. He's considered defeated. Get Saku-chan back here now," the Junior Ace said.

"No," Ryoma replied as he stood up.

"What do you mean no? I said—"

"I'm fighting that guy's friend right now," was Ryoma's monotonous reply as he watches Ezekiel charging towards him again.

"Eh?" Kirihara asked. Ryoma moved sideways, making his hair follow his movements, evading Ezekiel's punch.

"Nathan's friend?" he heard Yanagi say.

The bickering of the VIP gamers and Yukimura suddenly stopped. Ryoma dodges another kick from Ezekiel and spun around to give him a kick of his own.

"You mean Ezekiel Gradstein!" Atobe yelled at him. Ryoma successfully hit Ezekiel and the latter coughed a few times.

Then, he heard his Tezuka-buchou's angered voice. "Tell me where you are now, Echizen!" Ezekiel glared at him angrily and elbowed his chin again.

"Yadda," Ryoma replied in a bratty tone. Then he winced from Ezekiel's attack.

"ECHIZEN!" Tezuka scolded.

His communication device fell from his ear as he landed on the ground in pain. His whole body was now covered with scratches and bruises. His forehead was still bleeding, and it seemed like his mouth was bleeding as well.

Ezekiel walked over to him. He looked down at the lying Ryoma on the ground. "See? You're already down. And you were just barely doing well in attacking me."

Ryoma smirked arrogantly at him. "Mada mada dane."

Ezekiel's brow twitched. "You can still say that despite the differences of our fighting styles. You're already down on the ground and yet you still say that I have still lots more to work on."

Ryoma sat up weakly. "Yep. Your master's defeated. An informant told me."

Ezekiel was shocked.

Ryoma took this opportunity and swiftly stood up while letting out his _Muga no Kyouchi _aura. With the remaining strength he has left, he let out a powerful combo attack on Ezekiel's whole body. His eyes glowed with concentration. He punched his chest then spun around to elbow his stomach and he grabbed Ezekiel's shoulders and used it as his way to jump and knee Ezekiel's chin. After that he stepped one foot on Ezekiel's right shoulder and with the help of his weight, balance, gravity and strength, he grabbed Ezekiel's head and pushed it far down to his neck, almost breaking it. Before Ezekiel drops on the ground, Ryoma grabbed his arm and flipped him over, making him land unconsciously on the cemented ground.

Ryoma watched the fainted Ezekiel as his aura began disappearing. After a few moments of not seeing Ezekiel move, Ryoma sat down and sighed deeply.

Momo and the others ran to him to congratulate him.

Ryoma smirked at them. "Looks like my Tekken moves paid off, huh?" he asked Momo.

Momo grinned and puts Ryoma in a headlock. "You little brat!"

And everyone laughed.

Sakuno just stared in awe at what Ryoma did. She never knew he was capable of fighting like that. She breathed when she realized that she was caught in her breath.

And then, she noticed a guy running towards them.

"Onii-sama…" the Seigaku guys heard Sakuno muttered.

They turned their heads and saw Tezuka running towards them.

But instead of checking out if Ryoma was fine or not, he ran straight to Sakuno.

After examining her and inspecting her whole body, he sighed in relief seeing that she was fine and uninjured. Then, he walked towards Ryoma and glared at him.

Ryoma sighed again. "Yes, I know I let my guard down."

Tezuka's eyes softened. "So did us," he said as Ryoma and the others saw other VIP gamers running towards them.

As expected, they all stopped to see if Sakuno was fine.

Fuji smiled. "Shall we get going then?"

They nodded. Ryoma was about to stand up when he realized he can't. In fact, his whole body can't move.

"It's the result of your fight with Ezekiel-san, probably," Ootori said.

"But it's noble of you to protect our dear Sakuno-chan," Jirou said, fully awake and cheerful like usual.

"Ryoma-kun…" the Seigaku guys and the VIP gamers gave way to her. She stopped when she was right in front of Ryoma. "R-Ryoma-kun… y-you…" tears were forming on her eyes again. "T-Thank y-you… I mean… a-anou…"

And she kept on stuttering and mumbling words that do not even make a complete sentence. The others just found it cute. They smiled bitterly when they sensed Ryoma and Sakuno's aura as they stared at each other.

"NO!" Kin-chan yelled and disrupted the two's moment. Kin-chan hugged Sakuno and began crying childishly. "Why'd you look like you're confessing to him just a moment ago, Sa-chan!" he cried and buried his head on Sakuno's shoulder.

A vein popped on the other guys' heads.

"GET AWAY FROM HER!"

And they began pulling Kintarou away from a beet red Sakuno.

Tezuka sighed deeply again. Everything's fine now. His sister's safe, they caught Nathaniel. And the only thing needed to do was officially close the festival.

**:||~BaTtLeFiElD~||:**

Back at the Rikkai's auditorium, the owner and some of the school's officials gaped at the current position Nathan was in. They are _so _going to lose the school to him.

Niou walked up towards where Shiraishi, Nathan and the VIP gamers are. The other Ikemen Samurai that were left behind also went up towards him.

"What now?" Nathan muttered.

Niou grinned.

"What are you smiling all about? This fight isn't finished yet," he said and glared at him. Then he turned to Yukimura. "Our fight's still not finished yet."

"This is reality, Nathan. Give up," Yukimura said.

"Ezekiel's still not yet defeated. And even if he's defeated, the contract is still under my hands," Nathan answered.

Yukimura narrowed his brows.

A knife was pointed to Nathan again. Kite was the one who pointed it. He looked at Yukimura for confirmation. "Dead or hospitalized?"

"Wait," Yukimura raised a hand up to stop Kite. He walked closer to Nathan. He held a hand in front of the foreigner. "Give me the contract now."

Nathan smirked evilly. "You think I'd do it? Think again."

"Kite… dead," Yukimura monotonously said and Kite nodded.

Kite sliced Nathan's neck. Nathan shut his eyes tightly.

_SQUEAK_

After three seconds…

Nathan felt that he was still standing and conscious. He looked at the knife Kite was holding.

The foreigner rolled his eyes. "A toy?" he groaned as he saw the knife bending on his neck. Kite smirked and 'sliced' his neck again. The thing produced a squeaking sound and just bended like a dog's toy on his neck.

Yukimura sighed. "Unfortunately, I can't really give my men real weapons."

Shishido rolled his eyes incredulously. "So if you were given a chance, you'd want it to be real?"

Yukimura smiled at him.

"SHUT UP!" Nathan yelled. "You're just playing with me!" Even if it was obvious that he was surrounded and close to being defeated, he was still being stubborn.

"You're defeated. Give the contract now," Yukimura persisted. Echizen and Tezuka already informed them through the receivers Ezekiel's official defeat, and that they were on their way back to Rikkai.

"As long as Ezekiel is still standing, I won't be considered defeated," Nathan stubbornly said.

Then, a lifeless body was thrown over to them. They jumped back in surprise.

"W-What's that, dane?" Yanagizawa _quacked._

They observed the _thing _that was thrown to them.

Nathan's eyes widened. "Ezekiel!"

The VIP gamers turned their heads and saw the Seigaku guys and the other VIP gamers grinning towards them. Ryoma was carried over Momo's shoulder, much to the prince's dismay.

"We're back!"

Sakuno smiled at them. She bowed sincerely towards them. "Minna-san, hountou ni arigatou gozaimashita!"

* * *

A/N: Next chap's the last! Hope you guys liked this chappie XD Again, sorry for the wrong spellings and grammars. And please, leave your comments and reviews ^^

Thank you very much, previous reviewers: **SasoLOVE111**, **OROgoldenpair1**, **demoncat13**, **xXxvanillaprincessxXx**, **Puppylove7**, **Crystal** **Aurora**, **KGirl1407**, **J**, **haninozuka** **mitsukuni**, **Kei**, and **RyoSaku avidfan17**!

Next time: The day finally ends. Nathan was defeated, and Sakuno was saved… or is it? What is Nathan talking about again? And Atobe wanted to have an after-party celebration. And so, they all ended up in Atobe's huge mansion.

Happy Mother's Day!

Go, PACQUIAO!


	28. The Day Ends

Chapter 28: The Day Ends

Nathaniel glared at the stupid tennis players. They ruined his plans. All of it! They even defeated his most trusted companion, Ezekiel. But still, he won't give up. He loves Sakuno and he'll do whatever it takes to take her back. They've known each other even before all of this had started. He was going to take her no matter what.

"I still have the contract. Even if you defeat Ezekiel, my power over her is still—"

A piece of paper met his face.

His eyes widened.

"What the hell's that? A fake contract?"

Niou, who was holding the paper, smirked. "Nope."

Nathan fished out something from his pocket. "This is the real contract," he said as he showed it to them.

"Read what's in there," Niou calmly said.

Nathan looked at what was written in the contract. It was written in English. It read:

_Ryuzaki Sakuno is not going to be married nor engaged to Nathaniel Schaeffer. Simply because this contract that Nathan might be holding now is really a fake one that the great trickster, Niou Masaharu, did. The aforementioned spectacular Trickster found out where the real contract was hidden. It was stupid, really. The contract was hidden underneath Ezekiel Gradstein's teddy bear's bow. The genius Trickster stole it and replaced it with this seemingly real engagement contract. And if you, Nathaniel, is currently reading this now, then you must be stupid not to read the contents before letting the closing ceremony start. If you want to know where the contract is, then look at the paper that was more probably shove on your face right now, because that is the real contract._

The fake contract had the exact format and layout as the original one.

"U-Unbelieva—"

Niou tore the real contract into pieces.

"Next time, don't hide it in a bear's bow," Niou said before he and the others went out of the auditorium.

Nathan kneeled on the middle of the auditorium, finally accepting his defeat. His plans were all ruined, and his friend, Ezekiel, was utterly defeated… He was defeated by ordinary middle school tennis players…

Sakuno stopped following everyone just as she was about to reach the exit of the auditorium. She looked back and saw Nathaniel kneeling on the ground in defeat. She narrowed her brows worriedly and once again stepped inside and walked towards him.

The others didn't notice that Sakuno went back to Nathaniel and they just kept on chatting with themselves.

Right now, only Nathan and Sakuno (and a fainted Ezekiel) were inside the auditorium. The University's officials all retreated back to their office. And the other festival's guests already went home.

Sakuno leaned her head closer to Nathan. "Anou… Nathan-kun?"

Nathan continued on looking at the ground miserably.

Sakuno forced a smile. "I-It's okay… I-I mean… anou…"

"Sorry," Nathan said in his British accent.

She smiled sincerely and gestured for him to continue. Nathan nodded weakly and smiled bitterly.

"I'm sorry I tried to force you to become my fiancée… I just… can't stand seeing you surrounded by those men," Nathan said, trying to make his Japanese words fluent, but still ended up sounding weird because of his British accent, "I know that you love tennis… and those guys do too… But… it's just… I really missed you, Sakuno. After all these years… I wanted to see you again. I was really happy after finding out that you were that girl I was looking for. Sakuno, I'm really sorry…"

Sakuno patted his head comfortingly. "It's okay. I forgive you," she said in a sweet tone. "Just promise me that you won't do it again…"

Nathan smiled. "I promise."

She jokingly added, "And I can't believe that you actually hired those foreign soldiers. It's scary. I mean, you really have wealth and authority now! Much worse than our childhood days!"

"Yeah, I suppose I've overly used my power…" Nathan admittedly said.

Sakuno smiled. Then, she leaned closer and pecked his cheek. "You're always, and forever will be, one of my most treasured friends."

Nathan's heart beat faster. A hint of pink appeared on his cheeks. Then, he sighed deeply. "Yes… _friends._"

Sakuno stood up and looked at him. "I guess I'll see you later?"

Nathan also stood up. "Yeah… See you later…"

Sakuno nodded her head cheerfully and began walking away.

Nathan watched her disappearing figure with a resentful smile.

'_Thank you, Sakuno.'_

**:||~ThEdAyEnDs~||:**

Sakuno caught up to the VIP gamers, who all didn't seem to notice her quick disappearance. She quickly stopped when she was beside her brother. The VIP gamers all gathered inside the tennis courts, most of them were complaining about the events in the Final Game.

"What's going on?" she asked Tezuka.

"The gamers are not satisfied with the end of the Final Game," he replied.

"Oh…"

"Anyway," Yanagizawa complained, "That's not fair, dane! I mean, I know that you wanted to save Ryuzaki-san from that English guy but I demand a rematch now that the villain is defeated, dane!"

"Yeah," Sengoku added, although he seemed less frustrated with the turn of events than most gamers, "I mean how could Kite-kun just be announced as the winner of the Final Game when he just joined at the last minute? And by last minute, it literally meant _last minute._"

"Oh, poor Yukimura-san," Sakuno said pitifully as she watched how Yukimura dealt with the gamers.

"ENOUGH!" Sanada's loud voice echoed throughout the courts, which was enough to stop all the complainants from talking. "Just listen to what Yukimura has to say first!" he glared at them.

Horio paled as he saw the Emperor's clenching hands, remembering the many times he slapped him during the Final Game.

Yukimura cleared his throat, glad that all of them finally quieted down so that he would be able to speak since they all didn't let him do so. He looked directly to the VIP gamers. "Because of the change of events, with Nathan's sudden interference with the festival, I did the Final Game as it was. But now, I'm quite satisfied that all the efforts and risks made paid off. That is why… I decided… to let all VIP gamers, including the unacceptable ones, to get perfect scores on the Final Game," he smiled, "Seeing that everyone helped with the ambush."

Everyone went still.

Yukimura kept on smiling. "Let's just say that the Cosplay Tennis Competition was just a warm up for the REAL Final Game… The REAL Final Game is the battle between us, VIP gamers, and Nathaniel Schaeffer. And since we won, everyone gets a high grade!"

One person from the still crowd coughed.

After a few more moments of letting everything sink in, they all jumped in glee.

"THAT'S WHAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT!"

Sakuno watched the cheerful tennis players happily. She clapped her hands unknowingly while smiling at them. "That's good to hear," she muttered, remembering that she was an unacceptable player and that she lost the Archery Game. That was good news for everyone.

"But wait," Ootori suddenly said. Yukimura looked at him and the VIP gamers turned to him with confusion. "Anou… if we all get perfect scores in the Final Game, then… who is the winner of the VIP Game?"

Oh right. The Final Game is just the final round for the main event for the tennis players; The VIP Game.

"I'll just add the scores of the Final Game with all the other games you played for the whole day," Yukimura answered.

"And seeing that Kabaji Munehiro was the one who won The Most Important Game, and that he also acquired perfect score in The Final Game, plus all the other games he played during the festival… I'll say that he's definitely on the lead," the demigod added.

"The top 8 gamers with the highest score wins," Sanada said.

"And the winners get to stay in one of Atobe's luxurious hotels for a week."

Atobe smirked, letting out his princely-like aura.

"Anou..." Sakuno's sweet voice interrupted, earning everyone's attention, and she blushed shyly as she continued, "C-Can I make… a suggestion?"

Yukimura immediately smiled charmingly at her. "Of course."

"C-Can we… just… cancel the prize and do something else? I think that it's better if all gamers get to enjoy something together. After all, everyone worked hard."

Yukimura and Sanada looked at her with disbelief.

Sakuno continued on blushing. "I just think that it's unfair if only 8 people win, over all…"

Yukimura's expression turned gentler. "I understand, Sakuno-san."

Atobe stepped up, interrupting Yukimura and Sakuno's 'moment'. "Ore-sama agrees with Hime. It is quite inappropriate if only 8 were declared the winner."

Sakuno smiled at him. "That's right! I'm glad you agree with me Atobe-san!"

"Of course," Atobe flicked his hair. "Now, Ore-sama's most wonderfully gorgeous Hime, what would you like to replace the prize with?"

Sakuno bowed her head, thinking deeply of something everyone could enjoy together. Then, when the light bulb enlightened, she cheerfully raised her head up. "Instead of staying at one of your hotels, why don't we just celebrate the success of this festival?"

Yukimura and Atobe nodded.

They turned to the VIP gamers.

They grinned and nodded their heads, too.

It really _is _unfair if only 8 win the VIP game, considering everyone's efforts with their battle with Nathan.

Atobe gracefully snapped his finger. "Ore-sama shall host a party tonight as a celebration for Yukimura's VIP game and Rikkai's, although not as fascinating as Hyoutei's, Festival!"

They all cheered.

"Venue," Atobe smirked arrogantly, "Ore-sama's mansion!"

They cheered even more.

And they watched as Atobe's cars parked outside the University, ready to fetch all 84 people from different schools. Of course, Nanako and Ryoga were included in the number.

**:||~ThEdAyEnDs~||:**

Like magic, Atobe's mansion turned into a party. It was surprising because the party was only planned minutes ago. It wasn't even on Atobe's schedule. But with one call to his butler to tell him to organize a magnificent party for everyone within their travel time, the mansion transformed; and indeed to a magnificent party.

"WOW!" Momo's mouth watered as he looks at the buffet table, "He prepared these foods within thirty minutes? That's so cool!" And with that, he grabbed a plate and filled it with different foods.

Ryoma was still immobile because of his previous fight with Ezekiel. He just watched Momo-senpai irritatingly from afar. The stupid senpai was the one who volunteered to help him because of his injuries. And now there he was, eating everything his eyes could see.

The tennis prince let out a deep sigh.

Oh well.

It was a nice day, even though it was really tiring.

The day he spent in Rikkai felt like 28 days. And now, here he was, spending the night until, probably, dawn or morning in Atobe's mansion.

"Don't tell me… this party is going to feel like another 28 days, too?" he asked himself as he rolled his eyes.

And he didn't think that the VIP game was a waste, too. Ryuzaki really did have point when she said that it was unfair if only 8 people win.

**On the other side of the huge, huge mansion…**

"Oh yeah…" Shiraishi suddenly said and turned to the other VIP gamers near him, "How did you know that we were planning on ambushing Nathan back then?"

Ibu was the one who answered him, "Seriously, it was already suspicious even before the closing ceremony started. And it got even more suspicious when Ryuzaki Sakuno-san was involved with the closing ceremony. And it was even more suspicious when smoke bombs suddenly landed on the auditorium. And it was more suspicious when the Ikemen Samurai never returned after the final game…"

He continued rambling on and on about the suspicious things that had happened.

"Anyway," Mizuki said, reverting Shiraishi's attention to him while Ibu kept on talking, "we heard what you were planning from Hirakoba Rin who heard it from Saeki Kojirou who heard it from Oshitari Yuushi who heard it from Sengoku Kiyosumi who heard it from Kajimoto Takahisa who heard it from Tachibana Kippei who heard it from Fuji Syuusuke who heard it from Tooyama Kintarou."

"Wow, the rumor passed many ears. Good thing it didn't change," Shiraishi said.

Kisarazu Atsushi interrupted. "Actually, when the news got to us, the information got different. The information turned out that the Ikemen Samurais were planning on taking Sakuno hostage in exchange for banana cream pie and Nathaniel was baking some to throw it over the whole University."

"That… had nothing to do with what really happened…" Shiraishi said and sweat dropped.

"Indeed."

**Wherever Sakuno was…**

"Onii-sama," Sakuno called sweetly. She and her brother were sitting under the warmth of a kotatsu, both eating Japanese delicacies they picked from the buffet table. "It's very nice of Atobe-san to throw this party for everyone, huh?"

Tezuka continued on eating his meal, ignoring her comment.

"I'm pretty sure that Atobe was just trying to show-off, again." Eiji said, who was also sitting next to the Tezuka-Ryuzaki siblings.

Oishi smiled weakly, agreeing mentally to what his doubles partner said.

"Sakuno," Tezuka's deep voice startled Sakuno a bit since her brother was quiet since they came there (which she thought was only natural for him), "Are you… in love with someone?"

Oishi and Eiji both spitted out the foods in their mouths due to sudden shock. The unfortunate victim of their food-blow was Kaidoh.

Sakuno's cheeks reddened. She avoided eye contact with him and decided to indirectly answer him. "Wha-What are you t-talking about, onii-sama? I-I d-don't understand what y-you're saying." She faked out a laugh and stuffed food on her mouth to avoid speaking anymore.

"Among all the VIP gamers who had fallen in love with you, who's the one you like most?" he persistently asked with a stoic face.

Oishi patted Eiji's back as the latter choked on his previous bite. He coughed a few times before he interrupted Tezuka and Sakuno's awkward conversation. "What are you saying, Tezuka? Of course it's O'chibi who she chooses!" he said with one eye closed.

"A-Anou…" Sakuno tried to talk but was interrupted by her senpais.

"Do not interfere with our conversation," Tezuka scolded Eiji.

"But Tezuka! Why are you making Saku-chan uncomfortable, nya? It's obvious she's O'chibi's!" he persisted.

"Kikumaru-senpai… onii-sama…"

"I want her straight answer coming from her mouth and not someone else's," the captain replied.

"C-Calm down you two!" Oishi positioned himself between them.

"A-Anou…"

"Why do you want to know who it is huh?" Eiji asked curiously with a pout.

"I need to inform our father about this," Tezuka answered.

Sakuno sighed tiredly and turned her head to a certain boy sitting on the couch. He was glaring at Momo-senpai, who abandoned him for food the moment he saw the buffet table. Unfortunately, Ryoma couldn't move a muscle because of his fight with Ezekiel. So he could do nothing but sit there on the couch and watch people with boredom. He was sure that's what he's going to do if he's not physically restrained anyway, so why bother.

She stood up and approached him, seeing that no one had noticed the quiet tennis genius. She had a platter of sushi on her plate, ready to share or give it to him, thinking that he maybe hungry after all that happened in the festival.

But unbeknownst to her, pairs of eyes suddenly rolled to her direction as she made her way to the silk couch. Her every movement was observed by _them. _

She sat next to him awkwardly and gave him the plate.

Ryoma stared at the plate filled with different kinds of sushi and sighed. "I can't eat that."

Sakuno pouted, obviously dreaded. "Eh? Why not?"

"I can't move a single muscle, that's why."

"O-Oh…" she blushed at her stupidity and took the chopsticks in the plate. She took one sushi and placed it near his mouth.

"…?"

Sakuno blushed even redder. "A-Anou… I-I'll feed you… I-It's my… thank you gift… f-for saving m-me from E-Ezekiel…"

He stared at the sushi squished between a pair of chopsticks near his mouth, then he looked back at the beet red Ryuzaki. He smirked. He opened his mouth and she placed the sushi in. He chewed on it and eventually swallowed.

They continued on doing that until the plate was half empty.

When she was about to place the sushi in his mouth again, another mouth took the sushi and chewed on it. They both looked at the person who interrupted their 'moment' and saw Kintarou.

"K-Kin-chan!"

Ryoma glared at him.

Kin-chan swallowed the sushi and smiled contentedly. "The sushi tastes nice! I love it! Feed me again, Sa-chan!" He squished himself between Sakuno and Ryoma on the couch.

"Eh?" she was dumbfounded.

"Get out of here, Jungle Boy," Ryoma said.

Kintarou turned to him and pouted. "Eh? Why?"

"Just… Shut up!"

Kintarou turned back to Sakuno and opened his mouth wide.

Sakuno hesitated at first but finally gave in. She put the sushi in Kintarou's mouth, only to be stopped by another pair of chopsticks stopping her chopsticks.

Sakuno, Kintarou and Ryoma looked at the chopstick-owner who stopped her attempt in feeding the Shitenhouji rookie. They saw Kirihara grinning at them.

"Hey there, Sa-chan!" he greeted.

"Uh… h-hello…"

Kirihara moved her chopsticks to his mouth and ate the sushi that was in it. He munched it happily as Kintarou and Ryoma glared at him with enviousness. "Yum! I suddenly remembered the cooking contest because of this!" He winked at her, earning him another red-faced Sakuno.

"E-Eto… K-Kirihara-kun…"

"That's unfair! How dare you take that? That sushi's supposed to be mine!" Kintarou whined as he faced the seaweed-head after he stood up from the couch.

"The whole platter's supposed to be mine, in case you've forgotten," Ryoma reminded them.

Just then, Atobe appeared behind the couched with a _graceful_ evil laugh. "Have you already forgotten that all the food you're eating right now belongs to Ore-sama? Therefore, Ore-sama has the right of having the honor to be fed by Hime!"

The sound of a bubble popping interrupted Atobe. It turned out that Marui was also there, just finished popping another green gum. "How low. Well, I guess I can't blame you if you're excited in having _my wife _feed you. In the near future, _she _will be feeding me food everyday of my life," he said conceitedly.

Yukimura suddenly appeared in the scene, with his fake smile. "Oh please. You were not the one who planned everything in the battlefield. I doubt she will like you."

Sanada cleared his throat. For now, Yukimura's his rival and so he said, "Don't be too sure that she likes you either."

Yukimura looked at him with confusion at first. Then he remembered about their 'talk' about being rivals for Sakuno-san's love. He smirked. "And what makes you think she likes you, Genichirou?"

Shishido noticed that Choutaro was hesitating in going to those guys' bickering over who's-she-going-to-feed-next problem. The brown-haired half of the Silver Pair gave his partner a slight push in the back to encourage him. His actions certainly surprised the shy Ootori. "S-Shishido-san!"

The capped boy grinned. "Go!"

Ootori looked at Shishido confusedly at first then after finally understanding what his senpai wanted him to do, he nodded determinedly. "Thank you so much, Shishido-san!"

Ootori moved closer to Sakuno, who was watching the boys bickering over something irrelevant with a sweat dropping on her head. As Ootori robotically walked closer, he became extremely nervous. He stopped just as he was two feet from her. She still hasn't noticed his presence. "A-Anou—"

"SA-CHAN!"

Ootori was pushed not too far away in the sidelines by the newly-arrived and fully-awaked Jirou. The third year Hyotei regular happily greeted her. He took a bite from the sushi that was once again squished between her pair of chopsticks and munched it happily. Kirihara, Kintarou, Atobe and Marui immediately noticed him and sucked him in with their bickering (even though Jirou couldn't care less). So now, there were 5 bickering boys between Ryoma and Sakuno. One of those five boys was getting bored with their arguments and was beginning to get drowsy (again).

Ootori stood up again and walked like a robot to Sakuno. "S-Saku—"

"Sakuno-san!"

Ootori was once again pushed away by the infamous twins of Jyosei Shonan.

"Here," Kohei and Yohei both said and handed her a bouquet of daisies. The two looked like they were angry, but she knew that it was their straight-faced version. (Or even their smiling-face version, who knows? The two looked like they were always pouting.)

She blushed as she received the nice present they gave her and thanked them.

"Compensation," the twins said. Still with their brows knitted together.

"Eh?"

They pointed towards the quarter-empty platter of sushi (that was originally supposed to be Ryoma's). "Some sushi would be nice," they said as-a-matter-of-factly. In short, they also wanted to be fed.

"O-Oh…" she took one sushi from the platter and shyly fed Kouhei. She took another one and gave it to Yohei.

They munched it. Then, Yohei glared at her. "Hey! Why'd you give the sushi first to Kouhei?" he demanded explanation.

"Ah… e-eto… anou…"

"Stop complaining, Yohei. It's because she likes me better, that's why," Kohei confidently said.

"What did you say?"

"You heard me!"

And the twins began a separate bickering other than Atobe and the others.

Ootori was once again trying his best to approach her. "S-Sakun—"

"RYUSA-CHAN!"

And so, Ootori was thrown over to the sides again.

Sakuno turned to the person who called her 'Ryusa-chan'. It was Sengoku who called her name affectionately. "S-Sengoku-senpai… m-my name is…"

"Yeah, yeah, I know that!" he said happily and hugged her. "It's my nickname for you! 'Ryu' for Ryuzaki and 'Sa' for Sakuno! Ain't I sweet?"

"Stop hugging her!" The bickering boys yelled at him and pulled him to their verbal fights.

Sakuno sighed tiredly. "Mou…"

Then, she heard a chuckle.

It was Fuji.

He sat next to her and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "It's a nice night, isn't it, _Ryusa-chan?_" he said.

She blushed with his contact and trembled vigorously. "S-Senpai, I… I…" she couldn't think of anything to say and so she said, "Would you, uhm… (gulp) like some… sushi…?"

Another chuckle.

"Of course."

She uncomfortably took a roll of sushi with her chopsticks. She was about to feed him, but she was stopped when someone (Ryoga) pushed her away. She stumbled forward and clumsily dropped on something (Ootori).

"Tsk, tsk, tsk!" Ryoga shook his head disappointedly, "Can't you protect your own girlfriend, Chibisuke?"

And so, Ryoga and Fuji were forcedly pulled to the arguing boys.

Sakuno had her eyes shut tight as she tried to ignore the pain coming from her body. She leaned backwards and noticed that she was on top of a madly blushing Ootori. The platter of sushi was thrown over to the ground while the sushi between her chopsticks was already inside his mouth.

'_I-I d-don't believe this! S-Sakuno-san… i-is f-f-feeding m-me and is on t-t-t-t-t-t-t-t-t-t-t-t-t-t-t-t-top o-o-o-of m-m-m-me…!' _Ootori thought. He can be considered lucky. _He _had most of her attention right now. All those attempts of approaching her finally paid off.

Then, he fainted. Too bad it was too good to last. For Ootori's part, at least.

"Ah, Ootori-senpai!" she called out worriedly.

"Don't worry. He'll be fine. He's just too happy," Shishido said behind her. She slightly nodded her head and stood up from her position. He added, "I'll take care of the rest. You can go have fun with the others now."

Sakuno smiled at him. "Thank you, Shishido-san."

"No prob." He carried the fainted Ootori over his shoulders and dropped him on the couch the other Hyotei players were using.

Sakuno looked over all the VIP players having fun with the party. Well actually, most of them were just eating and chatting happily with each other. Some are singing their throats out as they used the abused Karaoke box. Some are playing video games. Some are going back-and-forth to the buffet table. Some are also bickering (like Kamio-san and Momo-chan-senpai over who gets to sing with Ann-chan next). The 'Ignored Guys' were seated in a corner, being ignored by most characters.

Gakuto-san was also trying to irritate Kikumaru-senpai but only ends up irritating himself because of Kikumaru-senpai's naivety. The only person irritating Kikumaru-senpai right now was the continuous 'whys' of Itsuki-san of Rokkaku. Mizuki-san was also trying to get Fuji-senpai's attention but he was too busy with his sadistic remarks with the Atobe-san and the others.

Then, because she remembered the bickering guys, she remembered Ryoma. It was no surprise when he found him annoyed with the guys fighting next to him. Most of them are yelling already, and he can't do anything since he can't even move. He didn't seem interested in joining the fight too.

She timidly walked towards him.

Ryoma looked at her, obviously mentally telling her to get him out of there.

She smiled.

Oh, it was definitely going to be a long, long night.

Maybe even longer than the whole day they spent in Rikkaidai. Which felt like, just like what Ryoma said; 28 days. Or can be translated to: 28 chapters. A 28-chaptered story telling what happened in a single day they spent in Rikkaidai.

"It was fun, wasn't it, Ryoma-kun?"

_*Everyone's bickering getting louder and more personal*_

"Yeah… maybe…"

_*The off-key sounds of tennis players attempting (and failing) to sing echoed louder*_

"And was definitely worth waking up early for, right?"

_*The loud 'BOOMS' and 'BANGBANGBANG' sounds coming from the video games went higher as someone increased the volume*_

"Nope, not at all, Ryuzaki."

"A day spent in Rikkaidai… Maybe I should make a 28-chaptered story about it… What do you think?"

"Heh, Ryuzaki, you're still mada mada dane."

"Mou. But I already thought of a title!"

"What?"

She giggled.

"A day at Rikkaidai."

**.OwArI.**

* * *

A/N: So, it ended up just like that… haha it was corny, I know XP. Sorry, can't think of anything else to write XP It's kinda ended up as a RyoSaku but can also be a ChoutaroSakuno… Well, whoever she ends up with will stay open-ended since the fic only took part in a day, lol. Oh, and here's a little message from me to thank you all of the readers of 'ADAR'! Thank you for the readers and reviewers of this fic!

**Thank You Readers!**

**At last, after years of writing this story, I've finally finished it! But the truth is I would've never finished this story without the support of you, readers. I am truly, eternally and sincerely grateful for what you have done. You guys are so nice to me! For all the chapters that I've written, there were no flames or hate reviews T.T and I am truly moved to tears. Whenever I update a chapter and read the reviews you submit, I can't help but feel happiness… Even simple reviews like "Update soon" made me happy! It's because of these wonderful reviews that I keep on updating. I want to feel the happiness brought to me by you, readers, and the only way to feel that happiness is by updating. I am really glad I could make you happy, even if it's just temporary. I try my best to make chapters as humorous as possible, because it makes me feel that I can make someone in this world smile, and who in the right mind would not feel happy about that? Of course, I am also thankful to you guys for bearing with my grammatical errors :P. I'm such an idiot, ne? Nevertheless, there are also some who corrects them, "Constructive Criticism" as they call it, and those kinds of reviews are really appreciated and loved. **

**Again, thank you! Words cannot simply express how I truly appreciate what you've done! I wish I could go to your houses one by one to formally acknowledge each and one of you. But the problem is… I don't have a passport… yet. And for the Filipino readers, I don't know where you live… BUT STILL! I hope my words of gratitude reached you! Thank you readers, thank you supporters, thank you reviewers, thank you God, and thank you Sakuno lovers!**

**Ja matta na, minna!**

And, I wouldn't mind for one last review for this fic from you guys :D

Prince of Tennis © Konomi Takeshi.


End file.
